Too Far Gone
by GronkSpikes
Summary: I had everything. An NFL Career, a beautiful fiancee, and I was about to have the life I dreamed about. But now, it's fighting for my life, day in and day out. And I can't stop fighting, for my sake or her's. Rated T for violence and language. Constructive Reviews Greatly Appreciated.
1. Draft Day

**-DISCLAIMER- There are some parts to the story that I will be altering to fit my rendition of Telltale's The Walking Dead games. I do not own Telltale, The Walking Dead, or any characters depicted other than my own OCs.**

Chapter 1 - Draft Day

April of 2010. I sit in my living room nervously with my Mom, Dad, brother Mick, sister Mia, and girlfriend Carley. A camera crew from NFL Network stands in the room as well. The clock strikes 7 P.M., and day 2 of the draft officially starts. My chest pounds as hours pass and names are read off and other prospects' dreams come true.

Pick 82 had just passed. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Emmanuel Sanders, a wide receiver from Southern Methodist University. The Atlanta Falcons were officially on the clock, my childhood team. What I wouldn't do to get to play for the Dirty Birds. My chest starts pounding harder than it already was before, and I damn near have a heart attack as my phone rings, with no contact name.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Hi I'm looking for a Mr. Brendon Dawkins?" A woman's voice comes through the line.

I sigh. "I'm sorry you have the wrong number"

"My apologies" She hangs up. I drop my phone and sigh again.

"Damn" I groan into my hands.

"Nervous?" Carley puts her hand on my shoulder.

"You have no idea babe. I've never" I'm cut off by my phone ringing again. Another number with no name.

"Hello?" I pick it up.

"Ian? This is Thomas Dimitroff of the Atlanta Falcons. How are you doing?"

"Holy shit." I chuckle. "Hello sir I'm doing great. How about yourself?"

"I'm fine. How would you like to play for the Atlanta Falcons?"

"Nothing I want more sir" I start laughing as my childhood dream comes true.

"Great. Here's Mr. Blank"

"Ian, how are you" I hear an older man's voice. Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons.

"I'm having the best night of my life, sir. This is crazy. I'm going to be an Atlanta Falcon." The TV cuts to the stage, where the commissioner comes onto stage. The pick is in.

"With the 83rd pick in the 2010 NFL draft, the Atlanta Falcons select Ian Sullivan, Wide Receiver, University of Georgia" The camera cuts to two video feeds, one of Falcons fans celebrating and one of me sitting in my living room. I reach down below and pull out an Atlanta Falcons cap, firmly putting it on my head. I turn to my mother and kiss her cheek. My dad pats me on the back as everyone cheers. I turn to Carley, who was grinning more than I was. I pull her in for a tight hug.

As our hug slowly fades away, I back up, and pull out a small black box. "Carley," I begin, "These past two years have been a hell of a ride. And as I start this new journey into the NFL, I want to start this new journey with you. I love you very much. Will you marry me?"

Carley pulls me into another hug. "Yes. Yes I will." She whispers through tears.

The greatest day of my life. I was an Atlanta Falcon, and I was engaged to the love of my life. What could possibly go wrong?

 **Not a crazy exciting chapter. Mostly just an introduction. Walkers will be introduced next chapter. I'll be accepting OC submissions for characters in later chapters- mainly just for the chapters in between seasons.**


	2. Outbreak

Chapter 2 - Outbreak

I should tell you a little about myself. My name is Ian Sullivan. I'm 21 years old, and I was a Junior at the University of Georgia. I played 3 years of football as a wide receiver at Georgia, after 4 years of high school football and God knows how many years of Pop Warner. All this led to me being drafted 83rd overall in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, my childhood team. I was projected to be an early second round pick, but a knee injury at the end of my junior year hurt my draft stock. Regardless, I decided to declare for the NFL draft when I heard I gained interest from a number of NFL teams. I improved my draft stock a good amount by running a 4.32 40 yard dash and getting 19 reps on the bench press at the NFL combine, but knee injuries in college must have turned teams off. Regardless, I was happy where I ended up. At the beginning of my Sophomore year at Georgia, I met my now-fiancee Carley at a party. She was a journalism major, and soon she landed herself an internship with WABE, one of the better news channels in the area. While she isn't really a football fan, she never missed a game after we started dating. Her father passed away the summer between our Sophomore and Junior years, although he seemed to like me and I thought we got along well. Her mother liked me, but we were not particularly close.

I grew up in Savannah, Georgia, for my entire life. Being the oldest of 3 kids, I was always the biggest, strongest, and fastest. I stand at about 6'2", 3 inches taller than Mick, and about half a foot taller than Mia. Our parents raised us to be athletes, with me in football, Mick in baseball, and Mia in Track, Basketball, and Soccer. Mick was finishing his junior year of high school, while Mia was finishing sophomore year. My parents, Rich and Hannah, were both athletes at Boston College, where my dad played football as a linebacker and my mother ran track. The two met in college, and the rest was history.

Well, fast forward to July of 2010, when this shit started. I had a few days off from training camp and Carley had the day off from WABE, so the two of us decided to spend a weekend up at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, together.

It might have been the most beautiful day of the year. Clear skies, mid-90 degree weather, and barely, if any, humidity. In fact, I think the only thing more beautiful was Carley. She was wearing a light blue tank top and white shorts. I was driving my new car, a 2010 BMW 328i which I bought with some of my contract money when I officially signed with the Falcons. I signed a 3 year deal, worth $3 Million, including a signing bonus of $250,000. I was able to buy the car and start renting a small apartment in Atlanta for Carley and myself to live in. I even set aside some money for tickets so Carley wouldn't miss a game. This trip wasn't exactly cheap either, we were staying in a beautiful hotel about a block away from the beach. I spared no expense for this weekend.

After the several hour long drive from Atlanta to Myrtle Beach, we finally arrived at the hotel. I grabbed our bags and we made our way up to the room.

"Good God that drive was exhausting" I collapsed onto the bed, making Carley giggle.

"Well it's a good thing we have a weekend to relax then, isn't it?" she laid down next to me, kissing my cheek.

"Guess so" I smiled and kissed her. "So, where to first?"

"Well, there's a lot to do, and a lot of time to do it, so I think we can just relax at the beach if you'd like."

"I'd like that" We got up and went for our individual bags. She grabbed a skimpy blue bikini and winked at me as she went into the bathroom. I dropped my shorts and threw on a black bathing suit. Carley opened the door and stepped out in her bikini, looking sexy as ever. I whistled which got a giggle out of her. I kissed her as I led her out of our room and down to the lobby. We got in an elevator, where there was a man standing in a corner, rubbing his neck. Upon further looking, I noticed a mark on his neck. A scratch, or maybe, a bite? The man looked nervous, but I kept my distance. I wasn't the only one thinking that, as I felt Carley's grip around my hand tighten. The man got off on the third floor in a hurry, with a small blood trail forming behind him. I let out a groan in disgust and forced the door closed. I'd have to let the manager or someone know about it. We finally reached the lobby, but the manager seemed busy, so we shook it off and left for the beach, which wasn't a long walk away.

It was all commotion outside. People were screaming and running all around. I stopped a guy who was running inside. "What's going on out here?"

"These people are attacking us!" He yelled as he ran inside amid the crowd.

"What does he mean?" My fiancee questioned, as we stayed put. Our answer soon revealed itself. A woman, maybe college-age, tripped in the chaos and fell to the ground, only to be trampled. When the crowd started to thin out, She was laying there, crying out. Her leg was clearly broken in a number of places, and she couldn't get up. I saw another group of people, no more than maybe 10 or 15, slowly stumbling over across the parking lot.

"What is that?" Carley slowly walked out to get a closer look.

"Carley wait!" I ran out after her and grabbed her. The woman looked back at the small mob and started desperately crawling, but to no avail. She made it about halfway before the group caught up to her. We stared in horror as the group collapsed on her and started biting. I heard raspy moaning to my right, to which I turned to see someone stumbling like the others. He stood slightly shorter than me, with messy hair, and pale yellow eyes. His skin seemed rotted, like a dead body, yet he was clearly alive? Or was he? What the fuck is going on? He clawed at my arm, trying to grab me. He grabbed me weakly by the wrist, and I could tell his skin did not feel normal. It felt like old leather rubbing my skin. His raspy breath felt warm as he tried to sink his teeth into my arm, which I quickly retracted. Carley and I turned back and ran for the hotel, and some men locked the front door behind us. The yelling and arguing

"What the hell was that?" Carley shrieked among the clamor. I quietly shushed her and led her to a quiet area with less commotion.

"Look," I began, my body tensing up slightly. "I don't know what this is or what's going on. But what's important is that we stay calm. I don't like this situation with a ton of people in this tight area, we should-" I was cut off by loud shrieking in the main lobby and floods of people running about the lobby. Carley tried to run but I grabbed her and hid behind a couch, peering out to see what was going on. What I saw shocked me. I saw the man from the elevator. In the same state as the earlier person, and his once clean suit stained red. The red likely coming from the blood spurting out of a woman's trachea. His skin seemed to be slightly less rotted, but his eyes were just as pale and he was acting erratic. His bite mark was more pronounced, as his pale skin contrasted the now-dark black bite mark. "Carley... " I whispered, "Do you see that? It's the guy from the elevator. That bite mark is all black now, I think it has something to do with what's going on."

"Ian, what are we going to do?" Carley whimpered. I glance around the room, looking for an exit and an escape route.

"I think we have to make a run for it for the car. I should still have the keys" I felt my pockets for the keys. I was wrong. "Damn. I left them up in our room. I'm going to try for it. Hopefully none of those things are on the way"

"I'm coming with you" Carley whispered. I nodded and slowly crept out. He was crouched over a body eating away. The crackling of me waking over shards of glass alerted him of my presence, and he slowly rose up and started stumbling towards us. His mouth was stained red with the body's blood, slowly dripping off his rotted face. I reached for something, anything to defend myself. A wine bottle caught my eye, sitting on the bar. I grabbed it and smashed it on the bar, breaking it like an Irish barfighter. The man was clearly indifferent to my weapon as he kept coming. Without thinking, I jabbed with the broken bottle, a squishing noise coming from his chest as my weapon sunk into his body, yet he kept coming.

"What the fuck?" I stood there, stunned. I slowly backed up and dropped the bottle as his raspy groans grew louder. Suddenly, my legs collapsed as I tripped backwards, the man still continued towards me, I desperately tried to crawl away, but I soon felt his hands on my chest. He opened his mouth and his rotted teeth slowly lashed at me, trying to bite. All that held him back was my hands on his neck,holding him back and keeping him from biting. His breath felt hot on my face as I tried to hold him back. I could feel my grip weakening as he let out one final moan before falling limp. The bottle stuck out of the back of his head, and my fiancee stood over me, breathing heavily. I got up and just looked at her, she back at me.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I think so. Are you?"

"Aside from the fact I just killed someone, yeah I'm fine"

"I wouldn't worry about it" I walked over to the window and looked at the chaos outside. More and more people were walking around like my attacker. "Jesus…." I let out under my breath.

"Let's get upstairs and get our stuff" Carley suggested.

"Yeah, we should. I don't feel safe here."

The elevators were out of order, for whatever reason. The lights were all off and the doors would not budge, so we began our trek up to the twelfth floor, to our suite. Luckily, we had no issues, aside from other panicked people running past us. We reached our room and turned on the TV to figure out just what the hell was going on.


	3. Chaos

Chapter 3 - Chaos

" _It is absolute chaos all around the country as the CDC has confirmed at least 1500 outbreaks of an infection that is bringing people back from the dead and attacking others. These individuals are extremely hostile and will attack whoever they see."_ A reporter on TV was describing what was going on. She had an armed guard with her wielding a handgun, and occasionally he would fire a round or two, I assume killing any infected that came towards the crew. The TV then switched to an infographic shortly before the power cut out entirely.

"Looks like the power's out" I pointed out to Carley, who was busy trying to call her family.

"I can't reach my family" she said in tears, "I don't know if they're ok"

" Well there's no point in staying here. If we want to find out we should get out here and get back to Georgia. Your mother lives in Macon, right?"

"Yeah. Downtown Macon."

"Let's get out of here" I grabbed my bag and led her outside, where the hall was full of bloodstains and several bodies. I wanted to puke. We quickly walked towards the stairs and I saw it. A little girl, couldn't have been older than 5 or 6, with a pink dress and blonde pigtails. She was dead, her intestines splattered on the floor. That sensation in my stomach came out as I got sick right next to her body. And I cried. The tears came out and didn't stop coming. I saw Mia in her, when she was younger. Carefree and innocent. It made me think that she could be gone, too. And the rest of my family. I wanted to see them again. Just one more time. I got up and wiped the tears from my face. "Sorry. Let's go." Carley sympathetically nodded and kissed me on the cheek.

We reached the stairs and started making our way down. By the ninth floor I could hear raspy moans above and below us, and my suspicions were confirmed when one of the infected dropped down from a higher level onto our level. Luckily, the impact from landing on his head shattered his skull, killing himself. I shook my head as we continued downwards from our buzzard encounter. At floor 6, we had our second encounter, a woman in this zombified state who was at the bottom of the stairs. She slowly stepped up the stairs, only to be Spartan Kicked by Carley. The zombie hit her head on the railing, which disoriented her, but she got back up. This prompted me to kick her once more, and then Carley finished the job by impaling the zombie with a high heel she pulled from her bag. "I knew those were worth the price I paid" I remarked.

She giggled "You always did have good taste" We hurried down as more groans echoed from above. I fumbled through my pockets and found my keys. We finally reached the lobby, and it was chaos. What was once a peaceful lobby turned into what looked like a war zone. Several bodies and tons of blood caked the floor and walls. The woman who was bit earlier in the afternoon stood near where she died, with a noticeable chunk of her throat missing, and her stomach ripped open. She immediately noticed us and started stumbling over. Without saying a word, Carley and I dashed for the door, avoiding the woman's arms swinging at us, hoping to catch us.

We made it out to the parking lot and what we saw was not Myrtle Beach. Buildings were on fire, people were screaming and running. I could hear automatic gunfire several blocks away. Was it the military? I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out. I saw a familiar face in the panic. The woman who was maimed in the parking lot several hours ago was still crawling around, this time with notable bites on her arms and shoulders. She was also missing most of her right cheek and forehead. She was also right behind my car. "Carley…" I began, "Stay close. There's a lot going on right now and I want to you to be safe. We're gonna make a break for my car."

"Ok baby. I want you to be safe too. Don't do anything crazy." Carley looked at me concerned.

"Ok on three. One. Two. Three!" We started running. As fast and as hard as we could. I was impressed she could keep up with me, but I guess that's what adrenaline can do to you. I unlocked the car and we got in, the both of us panting heavily. I locked the doors and we were safe for the time being. We just sat there, neither of us speaking, just catching our breath and regaining our composure.

"You good?" I finally broke the silence. She nodded and kissed me on the lips.

"Let's get to Macon. I have a bad feeling about this." Carley lets out. "I don't imagine it's much nicer in Georgia"

"Right" I agreed with her. I started up the car and slightly revved the engine. Upon putting the car in reverse and backing out, the car noticeably bumped over something. I pulled out further and saw I ran over the woman from earlier, my tire went right on her head.

"I'm sorry" I whispered quietly and drove off. Neither of us spoke much during the drive. Interestingly, the highways were not packed, and it was a pretty easy drive to Georgia.

Of course, Carley's suspicions were correct from earlier. Georgia was worse off than South Carolina. The numbers of infected tripled almost immediately as we crossed the border. To make matters more fun, military personnel closed down major roads, and we were forced to use back roads to get into Savannah. At that point, I couldn't travel anymore. I checked my watch, it was 11:37.

"Maybe we should find a place to spend the night." Carley suggested. "We can't keep driving. The both of us are exhausted and it's still several hours to Macon." I blinked twice and immediately started to feel more exhausted. She was right. There was no point to continue during the night.

"I don't like our chances of anyone opening their doors for us. I think our best chance is to get to my house, but that might be another half hour or so. Try to get some sleep." She sighed and turned on her side. I turned onto another back road to see a military blockade, with several dozen soldiers wielding assault rifles and other weapons. One soldier signaled me to advance forward, and I came forward until I pulled up right next to him.

"Are you trying to get through?" The soldier asked. I noticed his name tag read 'Henderson'.

"Yeah, I'm trying to get to my parents' house on the outskirts of Savannah." I looked around and saw some of the men running around to set up for something. What was going on?

"We can't let you through. There's a situation going on and we need to close off these back roads. The best you can probably do is take some other roads. Here, I'll give you some directions" He started telling me what roads to take when I heard screaming behind us.

"They're coming!" Someone yelled out as the soldiers got in position. Henderson opened the car door and led us out towards the barricade. Carley and I were lead to a tent and were told to wait until, further notice. Carley held onto my arm as indistinct conversations went on around us and gunfire rang out. I guess they were coming. A doctor came up to us to inspect us.

"Any bites or scratches?" We shook our heads. "Fever, nausea, anything like that?" We looked at each other and shook our heads. "Good. Seems like everything's all right for you guys." The doctor scribbled something on his clipboard and started to turn around.

"Wait," I stopped him before he left "What's going on?"

"Well, I suppose you already know the big points, you know, people coming back from the dead, biting people, killing them. Well, the CDC already has at least 350,000 confirmed deaths because of this in the span of about 12 hours. And that number is rising fast. They're working on finding a cure, but they need tissue from the subjects. The thing about the virus is that those infected start to decay at a faster rate, and the virus starts to break down your body slowly. A bite hastens the process at which your body breaks down, and leads to drastically high fevers to the point of death, and thus turns you into a walker. The issue with the tissue is that samples they've obtained break down too quickly for the people at the CDC to study and thus, it's difficult to find a cure. It also doesn't help that if they bring in a live subject, someone important ends up bit and then they're dead. From the looks of things, it's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better." The doctor rubbed the ridge of his nose and sighed. "You guys should probably get some sleep. It looks like you're beat. I'll come back to check on you in a couple hours." He exited the tent without saying another word.

"We can't stay here" I whispered to Carley. "We need to get to my parents' house"

"But it's a half hour-long drive" Carley whined. "It'll take us all night to get there. And not to mention if those biters are out there. So on top of the long walk, we might die. If we stay here, we know we're safe." She yawned. "And besides, I'm tired and you look like you're gonna pass out. Please baby, get some sleep."

"I'll sleep when I know I'm safe. I don't trust this setup. Something's gonna happen. I just have a bad feeling." I yawned as well and felt myself dozing off. "N-N-No…. I can't" I went out cold right on the cot.

I awoke maybe an hour later to gunfire, which was odd, because there was gunfire going on all around me when I fell asleep. But this was different. I could hear the bullet fly past me, like someone was shooting at me. Well, I was half right as a walker dropped dead right in front of me. Fucker would've bitten me in my sleep. I looked up to see a massive man in combat gear wielding a smoking handgun. Carley jolted up with a gasp and nearly screamed when she saw the dead walker.

"Baby it's ok. It's dead." I grabbed her and slowly rubbed her back. She calmed down but was still breathing heavily. I slowly stood up and crept towards the opening of the tent to see what was going on.

It was horrifying. The walkers kept coming, and the soldiers' numbers were dwindling. I could tell this would be a losing effort at this rate. The shouting and gunfire was getting less audible as time went on. I looked for my car, which was covered in blood and guts and brain matter, bullet holes in the windshield and body. Well, there goes $60,000.

"We have to get out of here. It's not looking good." Carley was already up and standing nervously. She didn't want to be here and I had to get her out. I quickly led her outside the tent and saw a man get ripped apart less than 10 yards in front of us. The defense was not going to last much longer. I looked around for options, anything that we could do. I spotted a rifle laying on the ground near a mangled corpse. It looked like a soldier's but the walkers got him good. It looked like maybe an M4, but in the faint streetlights I couldn't be sure. I looked over at Carley. "I'm gonna grab a weapon and some ammo and then we're getting out of here. Wait in the tent and don't come out." She nodded quickly.

"Be careful. There's a lot of them." She gave a quick peck on the cheek and ran in. I lightly jogged across the road and picked up the rifle. My suspicions were correct, an M4 with a magazine that was about two thirds full. That couldn't last me long. I looked through his vest to see if he had any more magazines. Jackpot. He was carrying 3 more full mags. Suddenly, a hand jolted up and grabbed my arm. His hand. My eyes met his and I saw he turned right in front of me. I swore to myself as I shook his grip and shot him in the head. I collected the mags and dashed back to the tent.

"Come on. I've got a gun but they're getting close" I hissed to Carley with a hint of urgency to my voice. She got out and we ran as fast as we could, as far as we could. We didn't stop until we couldn't see any walkers around us, and we took refuge behind a car, where we caught our breath. I looked around the area, which had decent lighting given how late it was. "How much battery does your phone have?" I asked Carley who was desperately trying to make a call, to no avail.

"87%, why?"

"I know the area, we're only a 15 minute run from my house. Only issue is the lighting is terrible. If we run we can make it, we just need to see where we're going." She nodded and turned on her phone's flashlight. Another minute of catching our breath and we were off again. As we were running, it was rather quiet in the suburbs. The occasional scream from a walker claiming a new victim would ring out through the night, but otherwise the raspy moans were the only sounds you could hear. Most of them were behind us, but several appeared in front of us when we were several blocks from home. I pulled out the rifle and quickly dispatched them with ease.

"You really know how to use that thing" Carley remarked.

"Well it's not too difficult. Just point and shoot. Honestly it's kinda a cool feeling. Like a video game" I began before I was cut off my many moans behind us. Carley turned and gasped as a mob of walkers was gaining on us, too many for us to handle at the time. "Nevermind that, let's go home" She was way ahead of me.

We finally made it home, completely dark. I tried the door, but no use. Whoever used the door last locked it up, but I remembered something.

"Carley, we need to go out to the side."

"Why?"

"I'm gonna help you over the fence. The lock on the back door is busted and Dad never fixed it. I'll give you the M4 for the moment but all you need to do is unlock the fence."

"Yeah let's do it soon. I can hear them coming." She was right. They were maybe a block away, but time was of the essence.

I tossed the rifle over the fence. "You're next. Ready?"

"Ready"

"Ok 1, 2, 3" I boosted her over and I heard the thud of her landing on the grass followed by the lock being undone on the fence. She let me in and locked it behind us.

I opened the sliding glass door to my house with no issue whatsoever. Dad's laziness paid off. "Let's do a sweep of the house, make sure no one's a walker."

"I don't hear anything" Carley pointed out. "So far so good"

"Yeah you're right" I walked into the living room, empty. Guest room, empty. Bathroom, empty. "First floor's clear" I slowly stepped up the stairs towards the bedrooms. The creaking of my footsteps the only noise in the house. I reached the top of the stairs and turned first to the room Mick and I shared. I slowly creaked the door open and aimed my rifle. Empty. We turned around and looked toward my parents' room, we quickly stepped over to it. We opened the door and looked. Also empty. My stomach felt queasy as I feared the worst. That left one room. Mia's. I turned the knob and inhaled quickly. I quickly opened. Nothing. No one was here.

"Ian…." Carley began

"I think they're gone" I said quivering. "Unless," I ran downstairs.

"Where are you going?" Carley whispered.

"The basement. There's nothing down there but it's the only other place they could be." I opened up the door from the kitchen and prayed they were there. "Mom, Dad? Mick? Mia?" I called out. I heard a noise from the basement. I slowly stepped downstairs, and Carley followed with the light. The first thing I saw was a giant blood pool, a blood trail leading to a body. Mick's. He has a bite mark on his forearm and a bullet wound in his head. "No… Mick…." Carley shined the light towards the back, and what I saw killed me. My parents had turned. Mom had significantly rotted more than Dad. She must have turned first. I paused as tears welled up in my eyes. The tears rolled down my face as I did the one thing I never should have had to do. "I'm so sorry" I whispered through the tears. I pulled the trigger twice and heard the thuds of bodies dropping. And then there was silence.

"Is Mia down there?"

"I don't think so. I don't hear anything." I bolted downstairs. But that was it. Mia was nowhere to be found. "Nope. She's not down here. She could be still alive."

"Ian, I think that's a longshot. I wouldn't bet on it"

"Stop. Don't say that. She could still be alive. Damn it!" I roared as grief overcame me, and I broke down. I held my head in my hands and cried. My family was gone. I don't know if I cried for 5 minutes or 5 hours. I just sat there and cried. I'd never cried like that before in my life for anything at all. Carley rubbed my shoulder and suggested we go to bed. I looked at my watch and it read 3 AM. I got up and we went to bed. I led her to my room and I fell asleep knowing the only person I had left was in my arms. I had to keep her safe. By any means necessary.


	4. Familiar Faces

Chapter 4 - Familiar Faces

I could barely sleep that night. How could anybody? I just killed my parents and found my brother dead, we're in a zombie apocalypse and my sister could be gone too. I didn't know who was alive and who wasn't. What I couldn't get over was that I never got to say goodbye. I loved my family. What I wouldn't give to see them one last time.

I must have fallen asleep at some point that night, because I woke up to bright sunlight hitting my eyes. Carley stayed snuggling next to me. Dear God please let that all be a dream. This almost seemed like a dream, until my eyes glanced towards the M4 from last night. My heart sank. It wasn't a dream. Carley started stirring as I shifted around in bed. "Morning honey" I kissed her forehead.

"Good morning handsome" She giggled and kissed me back.

"How'd you sleep?"

She sighed, "Terribly. I couldn't get over everything that happened. It doesn't feel real."

"Yeah, I thought I had a nightmare or something when I woke up. But nope. This is happening." I frowned and laid back in bed. "Fuck…" She put her head on my chest,and I rubbed it. "Hey, we're gonna get through this. We're gonna be alright."

"Hmmm" She hummed as we laid together. "I'm hungry"

"I'll make some breakfast." I got up and she grinned. I carefully stepped down to the kitchen and checked to see what he had in the house. I opened the fridge and was delighted to see that we still had power. I could at least make Carley and I a nice breakfast. I fired up the griddle and started cooking away. Half an hour later, I saw Carley's eyes light up when she saw the platefuls of food I brought up for the two of us. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fruit. If it wasn't the zombie apocalypse, you'd think it was just a regular Sunday morning where a man was making his woman a nice breakfast, but the two of us knew this wasn't going to last long. For all we knew, this could've been the last time we had breakfast together.

The two of us ate our food solemnly. Neither of us had much to say. We knew what was going on. I broke the silence.

"So, what do we do?"

She looked up from her food and shrugged. "I guess I'd like to go to Macon, see if we can find anything there."

"I guess that makes sense. And it couldn't hurt to look."

"Right" She smiled half-heartedly at me.

"Well, we might as well pack what we can. No point in leaving all this food here." I got up, and Carley rolled out of bed and followed me. I looked out the bedroom window at the outdoor scene.

"Son of a bitch" I whispered to myself. A few walkers were scattered in the area, stumbling around, but the bodies they had feasted on were all over the place. Mangled corpses that hadn't turned yet littered the yards and streets.

"Holy shit…" Carley let out.

"We need to get out of here. Soon. This is gonna be bad" I turned to her, "Really bad."

The two of us rushed downstairs to grab whatever we could.

About an hour later, Carley and I left the house with as much food, water, clothing, and other necessities that our bags could hold. I grabbed the keys to my dad's truck, which was conveniently full of gas and still in the garage.

"I'll drive" Carley got in the front seat. "I'll need you to shoot any walkers that get in the way.

"Think you can handle the truck?" I grinned as I got in shotgun. She rolled her eyes as she started the truck.

I must have fallen asleep during the drive to Macon at some point, for quite some time, too, because I woke up to a loud pop as we were driving through a town. I couldn't tell where. I pointed my gun out the window, thinking someone was shooting, but it was quiet. A little too quiet. I looked out into the late afternoon and saw only trees and the seemingly empty town, no people, no walkers.

"What happened?" I looked over at Carley, who was looking out the window.

"I think I popped a tire" She sighed. "Shit. Is there a spare by any chance?"

"I doubt it" I frowned to my fiancee. "Do you know where we are?"

"Yeah. We made it to Macon. My parents' live on the other side of town, though."

"Well let's take a break and see if we can get some more stuff. I see a pharmacy that looks pretty quiet." I pointed to a sign that read 'Everett Family Pharmacy'.

"Let's take a look" She grabbed her bag and opened the truck door. I grabbed my rifle and joined her outside the truck.

"Look out for walkers" I warned her.

We walked up to the pharmacy, which appeared empty, and I tried to open the door, which was locked from the inside. "It's locked" I muttered. I looked around the corner and didn't see any walkers, so it seemed quiet enough that I could break the door handle down, and maybe get in that way. "Watch my back" I whispered to Carley as I started to bash the handle with the butt of my rifle. After a few minutes of striking the handle, it finally broke and we were able to enter the pharmacy.

It was completely dark, a few rays of sunlight leaking through boards covering the windows. I couldn't hear any walkers, which was a good sign. In fact, I couldn't hear much of anything. Just our footsteps in the building.

"Look at all the stuff" Carley whispered. "This is so much. I can't believe no one's here"

"Let's hope you're right" I looked over in the corner, where I thought I saw something moving, too fast to be a walker. "Hey we mi-" I was cut off by a blunt object hitting my head and I blacked out soon after.

I came to minutes later with the lights turned on as I found myself waking up to a handgun being pointed in my face and a splitting headache. I looked past the gun and saw a tall brunette woman about my age pointing it at me. I knew exactly who it was.

"Lilly?" It was Lilly, an old high school classmate.

"Ian?" She lowered her weapon and offered her hand. I gladly took it and rubbed my head where I was hit.

"Sorry about that" She frowned. "I didn't know it was you. I thought you were just a looter."

"Well we were trying to get some supplies from in here, so I guess in a since we were." I groaned as my headache kept pounding. I looked around the store and say Carley being held at gunpoint by a large man.

"Lilly, he up?" The man called out. "The girl is concerned"

"Let her go, Dad, they're cool. I went to highschool with him" He grunted and let Carley go.

"Well that was a warm welcome" Carley snarled. I frowned at her.

"Carley stop."

"Again, sorry about that" Lilly sheepishly grinned. "I'm Lilly" She extended her hand to Carley.

"Carley" She shook it.

"That's my dad, Larry" She pointed to the man who just held my fiancee at gunpoint, "Glenn", an average-sized Asian man who was behind her eyeing me up and down, "and Doug", she pointed to a bigger man fiddling with some electronic device behind the counter.

"Well for a formal introduction, I'm Ian" I shook Glenn's hand, "and that's my fiancee, Carley" I nodded to Carley.

"Fiancee?" Larry questioned. "You're no older than my girl."

I shrugged. "It just happened to be honest."

"Whatever" He spat. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry about him" Lilly explained. "After my mom died, he took it really hard. And his heart condition isn't helping either. He might be a bit harsh but he's a good guy. Even though he just pointed a gun at your fiancee."

"Yeah about that" I looked at Lilly. "That shit isn't gonna fly. The last thing I need is for my fiancee to get shot by your old man. And if he shoots her I'll probably kill him."

"Well don't fucking do that, Ian" Lilly hissed. "He's all I have left. Look, I'll talk to him, ok. Just keep it cool."

"I will if he does. Immature as it may sound, Carley is all I have left. If I lose her I'll lose my shit, so if no one fucks with her, I'll be fine." I scowled a bit.

She simply scowled and walked away. I sighed and walked over to Carley, who was evidently pissed off. I wrapped my arm around her.

"You alright?" She smiled a bit.

"Yeah. I think so. Aside from that psychopath holding me up I think I'm ok."

"Good. I don't know if I can trust these guys. I know I went to high school with Lilly but she's different. Not to mention she just defended her dad holding you up. I'm just saying if shit heads South, we might not be hanging with them for too long."

"Fine by me." She crossed her arms.

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't have an issue with it. Just…. Look just try to be cool for now."

She sighed "Yeah. I will." I nodded and kissed her on the cheek. I looked outside and it was starting to get dark. I grabbed a carton of cigarettes and stood by a barricaded window. I patted around my pockets until I found a lighter. I sparked it once and to my delight, it still worked fine. I lit a cig and took a drag.

"Never would have taken you for a smoker" I heard Lilly's voice behind me.

"I'm really not. Can't say I've smoked anything since college, and it wasn't cigs. But they say smoking is a popular method of coping with stress. Not exactly the best thing for me, but will it really matter if I'm a walker 6 months down the road?. Want one?" I tipped the carton towards her. She smiled and took one. I offered my lighter and soon the two of us were smoking.

"So, what did you do after high school? I was hearing rumors about you joining the military or something like that."

"Yep. I joined the air force out of high school. Not actually training to fight or anything, though. Mostly just working on the planes and helicopters themselves. Got to deal with my fair share of jackasses there." She took another drag of her cig. "What about you? There was a lot of buzz with some of the guys about this rookie Wide Receiver Ian Sullivan who was supposed to be great for the Falcons. A real steal of a draft pick."

I chuckled a bit. "Yeah, that. Well, I got drafted into the NFL a few months ago by the Falcons. Of course, when one thing goes my way, a Goddamn zombie apocalypse starts. Ain't that some shit?" I grinned.

"You seem pretty chummy about it all."

"As long as I have Carley I'll be as happy as can be. Although, I wouldn't exactly mind being in the NFL right now. It was my dream ever since I was a kid."

"Yeah…" She put out her cigarette. "Well I'm gonna go to sleep. You should soon, too."

"Probably a good idea" I finished mine off and joined Carley against a wall and fell sound asleep.

I woke up to indistinct yelling and gunfire. My eyes sprung open and saw everyone looking outside. I looked next to me to see Carley wasn't next to me anymore. I grabbed my rifle and looked out the window to see her and Glenn with a group of people. They were shooting at a small horde of walkers. One by one she and Glenn shot down the walkers while slowly backing towards the store until Glenn told the rest of them to run inside. Carley shot two more approaching walkers and was the last to get inside as Doug closed everything up. I noticed another familiar face in the new crowd. A tall black man by the name of Lee Everett, one of my former professors at UGA.

"We can't be taking risks like this!" Lilly hissed towards Carley and Glenn. I looked over at Carley who was ready to attack Lilly.

"We can't just let these people die, either." My fiancee shot back.

"When I say those doors stay shut no matter what, I fucking mean it. We don't know who these people are. They could be dangerous." Lilly retorted.

"Or even worse, they could have led them right to us." Larry chimed in. I rolled my eyes.

"Look," I began. "Give them a chance. Carley and I know one of these guys personally, and we can vouch for him. Right Lee?" I turned to him, purposefully using his first name for a few reasons in particular. Lee smiled towards me.

"It's damn good to see you, Ian. And you, too Carley. Thanks for that." He extended his hand. I shook it. Carley smiled at her old professor.

"I don't care if he's one of your friends, we can't be taking risks like this. We have to look out for ourselves first. And if my girl says we keep the doors closed, we keep them closed." Larry fired towards me.

"Where in the hell is your humanity?" Carley asked. "They could've died out there."

"Then we let them. This is a war zone." Larry said.

"And we're all fighting on the same side, Larry. Don't forget that." I quietly said which got a look from him.

"Look, we have kids with us" Lee pleaded.

"I see one little girl" Larry growled, but he was wrong. I noticed a young boy not much older than her cowering behind an older man with black hair and a thick black moustache. The little girl pulled on Lee's sleeve. She whispered something in his ear and he whispered something back to her.

"I'd go back out there in a heartbeat" Glenn shrugged while looking at Larry. I noticed Carley smile towards him after his comment.

"I bet you would, you're just a stupid kid." Lilly said towards Glenn, making her father smile, but suddenly his smile turned into a look of horror.

"Holy shit!" He pointed to the young boy. "One of them is bitten!"

"He wasn't bitten" The older man, who I assumed to be his father pleaded out. A larger woman, who I assumed was his mother, was holding him and looking him over.

"The Hell he wasn't" Larry bellowed out."We have to end this. Now" He slowly stepped towards the family before the kid's father got in the middle.

"Over my dead body" The man exclaimed with fire in his eyes.

"We'll only have to dig one hole" Larry growled in his face.

"Lee!" The little girl screamed out as she tugged on his sleeve. I looked over as Lee walked her over to the bathroom door on the far side of the store. He tried to open the door for the little girl. My attention was completely on Lee and the girl, was it his daughter? But, she's white. Or was she? Maybe mixed? Even then Lee never mentioned having a kid when he was my professor. Maybe the girl wasn't his. Upon trying to open the door, it wouldn't budge. Locked. He looked around for a few moments and pulled a key out from under the counter. How did he…? I stopped myself. It made sense. This must've been his family's pharmacy. As he unlocked the door, a walker sprung out from behind it. It must've been locked inside. The little girl shrieked out as it stumbled towards her. Lee intervened and tried wrestling with it before it knocked him over. A single gunshot rang out amid the chaos and the walker froze and collapsed. Carley held the smoking gun and the room was dead silent for about a minute. Lee stood up and dusted himself off. He looked fine, at least not bitten.

The wood boards over the windows started rattling as several dozen moans could be heard from the outside. The gunshot must have attracted walkers towards the store. We all stood still, anticipating when the walkers would inevitably break into the store.

"Everyone get down and stay quiet" Lilly quietly ordered.

"They're going to get in" Larry whispered out to everyone.

"Shut up!" The man muttered towards Larry.

Suddenly, the popping of automatic gunfire rang out. A lot of it, and slowly, the moaning died down, hopefully along with the walkers. Once again, there was silence. This silence was deafening.

"What… what was that? The military?" I broke said silence.

"Thank God for whatever it was" Glenn exhaled. With that, more silence. We all looked around at each other and were met with the blank expressions of others.

Larry held a glare towards Carley and roared out "We almost died because of that bitch and her itchy trigger finger! That was stupid!"

I walked up to him while rolling up my sleeves. "Hey. She saved Lee's life. And his girl's life too. I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but I don't think it's an itchy trigger finger. I think she has more compassion in her toe than you do in your whole body. Now shut the hell up and stop being a fucking asshole before I shut you up myself."

He pointed at me. "You threatening me, boy? Cause I'll have you know I" He clutched at his chest. He collapsed against the shelf and was immediately tended to by Lilly.

"Dad!" She cried out. She was feeling his chest, probably checking for a pulse.

"What's wrong with him?" Lee eyed the man from a distance.

"His heart condition!" Lilly said to him rather calmly.

"M-My pills" He gasped out.

"Nitroglycerin pills?" The other woman spoke with a heavy European accent. Maybe German?

"Yes, that. We've been trying to get into the pharmacy ever since we got here. Please try to get in there." She pleaded towards Lee.

"We'll get in there." He assured her.

"I'm starting to think this isn't a permanent solution" Glenn remarked.

"You're right. It ain't exactly Fort Knox" The older man agreed.

"What're you thinking?" Lee asked Glenn.

"We need as much gas as we can so we can all get out of downtown Macon fast. There's a motel not too far away from here, out towards the end of Peachtree. I'll work my way there and loop back, siphoning what I can."

"You know your way around town?" Lee questioned Glenn.

"Yep, born and raised. Name's Glenn."

"I'm Lee." Lee reached into his back pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie covered in stickers. "If you're gonna do that, here's a walkie-talkie if you get in a tight spot. Hopefully you won't need it."

Glenn nodded and headed towards the back entrance.

"Wait." I called out to Glenn. "I'm coming with. This sounds like it might be a two-man job. Especially if you get into a tight situation."

"Think you can keep up?" Glenn smiled at me.

"I didn't run a 4.32 at the combine for nothing, man." I smiled back at him. We made our way towards the back door until I felt Carley's hand on my shoulder, and when I turned around to face her I was met with a passionate kiss on the lips.

"You better come back safe." My fiancee whispered in my ear and kissed me on the cheek.

"Of course babe. I'll be back safe and sound before you know it." I gave her a quick peck on the cheek and left. I closed the door behind us and Glenn and I were off.

 **Well that's it for Chapter 4. We're finally starting to get into the main plot of the games. Still looking for OC's to be included for the later chapters, so feel free to submit one.**


	5. Live or Die Trying

**AN: I don't know why this one took so much longer to write, but here's Chapter 5.**

Chapter 5 - Live or Die Trying

"So you got drafted into the NFL? That's pretty cool. Did you ever get to play?"

"Nope. I was a rookie when this shit started. We were in training camp. Didn't even make it to the preseason. Never played a snap." I shrugged as we kept walking towards the motel.

"Damn. That's some shit, man." Glenn frowned.

"You're telling me" I looked down and continued walking. It really was some shit. I had all of less than 4 months to enjoy being engaged, and I never had a shot in the NFL. My mind continued to wander until I heard Glenn cry out.

"Oh shit!" He kicked at a walker that was laying on the ground. It sprung to life and clawed at his ankle. My foot stomped on it's skull, crushing it and covering my shoes in dark blood and brain matter, but it was dead. I nearly threw up.

"You'd think it'd get easier after the fifth or sixth one" I chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, no kidding. I can't get over the fact that these walkers were once people. Like I can't imagine what I'd do if I had to put down someone I knew, much less a loved one. I don't think I could do it." I frowned after Glenn mentioned loved ones, which he noticed. "Sorry, did you…?"

"Mom and Dad. Both of them turned the night this shit started. My brother was bit but he must've been put down himself." I pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "I've got a sister that may still be out there. I haven't talked to her since a few days before this started, so I honestly have no clue if I have any family left. And to be honest, that's what kills me about all this. I would at least have closure if I knew she was dead, but not knowing leaves the mystery factor. Like maybe she's alive. Maybe I'll see her again. Or maybe she's gone. And I'll never be sure."

"You guys were close?" Glenn questioned.

"Very. Me and my siblings were always there for each other. I had Mick and Mia's backs, they had mine and each other's. It worked out pretty well until, you know, the world ending and everything."

"Well that must've been nice, at least. I grew up an only child so I never had any siblings. Granted, I had some friends that essentially filled that role for me" He smiled softly. "But still, would've been cool to have a little brother."

I could see a sign for the motor inn up in the distance, maybe another mile away or so. It rose just above the treeline. The two of us didn't say another word until the motor inn itself was in view. The birds calling out in the warm summer afternoon made this walk feel almost peaceful. But in reality, I was scared. I felt my stomach knotting up and my knees wanted to buckle. My head was spinning and I felt like I was ready to pass out, but I wasn't sure why. It hit me hard when I saw a female walker standing in the road, looking up in the sky. I left Carley in a hostile area with people I didn't fully trust. For all I knew, she could be dead and I wouldn't know. Glenn slowly crept up to the walker and impaled it as I kept walking towards the motor inn. He soon caught up with me. We arrived at the motor inn, conveniently a few cars lingered in the parking lot and with any luck, enough gas for us.

"Seems quiet. I'm guessing they have vacancy" I whispered jokingly, getting a giggle out of Glenn.

"Not quiet enough" He pointed towards a group of 3 or 4 walkers on a balcony banging on a door. The door itself wasn't budging but I assumed there was something inside they wanted.

"We're probably going to have to take them out if we want to get the gas. All of them." He pointed to several more lingering in the parking lot and a few others in the woods and street.

"You got a knife or something?" I whispered to Glenn. He shook his head. Great. I didn't have one on me and I was not trying to go hand to hand with one. The M4 was my only option but that would easily create more problems. Gunfire could just as easily attract more of them and if I wasn't careful, we'd be supper for them.

"So what do we do?" Glenn asked.

"Try to get as much as we can. I'll cover you. Maybe we'll luck out and get plenty before one notices us. If all Hell breaks loose, we shoot our way out. If it comes to that, we need to take what we can get and go." Glenn slowly made his way to the nearest car and started slowly siphoning the gasoline.

Amid the walkers growling, a woman's cry rang out, calling for help, right behind the door the walkers wanted to break into. Glenn and I both froze.

"You hear that?" I nodded.

"Yeah. Sounds like a woman. I'm guessing that's what they want."

"What should we do?"

"I don't know. I don't know what we can do. But, it looks like the door is holding and the walkers are distracted. Let's keep getting gas while she keeps them occupied. I've still got you covered if we get seen." Glenn went back to siphoning the gas, but the expression on his face told me he wanted to save that woman.

After a few more minutes, he slowly got up, the gas can about two thirds of the way filled. He slowly scanned the area before turning to me.

"I'd like to get a bit more gas and then we can head back. One more car should do it." I nodded and motioned towards a car several yards away. We slowly crept towards it, always keeping our eyes on the walkers, making sure we didn't get seen. I placed my rifle on the hood of the car and Glenn began siphoning the last of the gas. The woman's cries continued to distract the walkers, but I then heard Glenn cry out next to me. I looked at him to see a walker underneath the car grab his ankle. Without thinking, I turned toward them and shot the walker in the head. With that, several walkers turned toward us and saw us as their next meal.

"Let's go. We just rang the dinner bell." I turned to see a group of walkers coming from the way we came, and several more from the other way. We were surrounded. I saw a large container not too far away that looked big enough for the both of us. "Over there" I pointed and we quickly made our way over there. I opened it and we both jumped in, quickly slamming it shut. It was a tight fit but for now, we were safe from the walkers.

"You good?" Glenn exhaled as he fumbled around his pockets. I nodded and started breathing heavily.

"I'm not bitten at least." He pulled the walkie-talkie out of his pocket and turned it on.

"Hey there, this is Glenn, and uh, me and Ian are kinda in a jam here. Little girl, if you're there, can you put your daddy on the phone, or the talkie, or whatever?"

"This is Lee. What's up?" I heard through the other end.

"So, we're down at the motor inn and well, we're stuck. I had an opportunity to get more supplies and a bunch of the roaming ones got a jump on me. We're hiding over here but they won't go away."

"Hey Glenn and Ian, we're gonna talk it over and send a group to come get you guys, all right?"

Glenn exhaled. "Awesome. We'll sit tight till then."

"Is that Glenn? Is everything ok? Is Ian ok?" I heard my fiancee's voice on the other end.

"Lee can you put me on with Carley?"

"Yeah here she is"

"Ian?"

"Hey Carley."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing, Glenn and I got into a bind but we're gonna be alright. We're safe now. What's going on back at the pharmacy?"

"Larry still hasn't gotten the pills and it feels like the Balkan Powder Keg in here. Someone's gonna snap and all Hell's gonna break loose. Other than that everything is just peachy."

"Well just stay safe, alright? I'll be back before you know it. Everything will be fine."

"Ok. I love you."

"Love you too sweetheart." The line went dark and I sighed. "Well, we got an hour or so to kill. What's your story, Glenn?"

"Well, I grew up in Macon. Only child. Pretty quiet kid. I got a gig delivering pizzas when I was 16, and I've been doing that ever since. Made some pretty good money along the way, and I was thinking about going to college. What's yours?"

"I grew up in a tight-knit Irish-American family. My parents met in college and got married a few years after graduating. And then in comes me a few months later. I started playing sports when I was 4 and that's how I made the majority of my friends growing up. By then, my brother Mick was born and my parents were expecting my sister, Mia. The two of them were athletes, too. That's how we connected with one another. Whether we were watching a game or playing outside, we were always together. And while we had the sibling rivalry that every kid has with their brothers and sisters, it was more of a competitive sort of thing. Like we wanted to make ourselves better athletes. It was special. There was never any bad blood, just good competition. I'll tell you, having siblings like Mick and Mia was the second-best thing to ever happen to me."

"What was the first?" Glenn asked.

"Carley, my fiancée. It sounds incredibly corny but she literally was the best thing that ever happened to me. I still remember the day we first met." I smiled as I reminisced about that morning.

—

It was September 9, 2008. The University of Georgia Bulldogs Football Team had spent the previous night partying, celebrating a 56-17 pummeling of Central Michigan. They were still considered the best team in the nation, and one of the big stories was this Sophomore Wide Receiver, Ian Sullivan, who caught 8 passes for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Unbeknownst to him, during the drinking and smoking and whatever else contributed to the worst hangover he'd ever had, he met a girl named Carley. The two eventually left the party, inebriated as hell but probably in a pretty good mood.

That morning, I woke up with the worst headache of my life. I was almost sure I died from alcohol poisoning and I went to Hell. I looked over at my alarm clock and saw it was 11:30 in the morning. Surprising, I was sure I wouldn't have woken up before noon. Must've been an early night. I rolled out of my bed when I noticed a black laced bra laying on the floor, along with some clothes that weren't mine, nor my roommate Colin's. And it couldn't have been a girl he brought home, because he was away visiting his own girlfriend at Florida State for the weekend. So that had to mean….

I looked behind me and saw her laying in my bed. Dead asleep. Medium length brown hair, and lightly-tanned skin. She was absolutely gorgeous. How did I get so lucky? I walked over to make myself a cup of coffee and throw on a Falcons shirt and some shorts as I heard some stirring from my bed. She slowly woke up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Our eyes met and I smiled.

"Uh… Hi" I sheepishly grinned at the girl who was laying in my bed.

"Hi" she quietly smiled back.

"So… Did we…?"

"I'd assume so"

"I see"

"Yeah"

We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before I came to my senses. I quickly picked up her bra and handed it to her, modestly covering my eyes to let her do it easier.

"Thanks" she said.

"No problem" I responded.

"Must've been a hell of a party, right?" She laughed.

"Yeah no kidding. I woke up hungover as hell."

"I've got a bit of a headache, too. Do you have any Advil?"

"Yeah let me get you some. You want coffee or anything too?"

"Coffee would be great, thanks." I nodded to her and went to the bathroom to get Advil. By the time I got out, she was sitting up, checking her phone. I handed her the Advil and poured a cup of coffee for her.

"So you're Ian, right? You're on the football team?"

"Sure am" I grinned. "You watch the game yesterday?"

"I did. I'm not the biggest Football fan but I like going with my roommate. She's big on Football and I like spending time with her. She was talking about you a lot. I guess you had a big game."

"Yeah, kinda. A pair of touchdowns is all I really remember."

"She was going crazy over you" She smiled, getting me to blush a bit in the process, flattered.

"So what's your name? You seem somewhat familiar but I can't put my finger on it." This girl looked distinctly familiar at some point, but I couldn't figure it out.

"I'm Carley. I'm pretty sure we've seen each other around campus."

We spent more time talking and the more I talked with her, the more of a relationship I could feel forming between the two of us. Eventually, I made the bold move to ask her to stay the afternoon and watch NFL with me, which she graciously accepted. We spent the afternoon watching football and eating pizza and wings together. And by the time Colin came home around 6 PM, I realized that I wanted to be with this girl.

Little did I know that less than 24 months later, I'd ask that same woman to be my wife.

—

"So that's how you guys met, huh?" Glenn asked.

"Yep. And here we are almost two years later. Engaged, in love, and in a zombie apocalypse." I shook my head.

"So what do you make of all this?" Glenn asked. "Like, how does this end?"

"Well," I began "We're less than a week into this mess and a huge chunk of the population is infected and rising from the dead. So, I really don't know. This could be over in a week or drag on forever, however long forever is. But you want my honest hunch? We're all dead men walking." Glenn's eyes jolted open at that. "But that's the thing. We're all dead, so that's why we have to keep fighting. Cause what's the point of being alive if we're not going to fight for it. Because of all the vast array of nightmares we could be in, this is the one that we have to pull out of alive. It's live or die trying. There's no third option. We either kill them or they kill us. But I think that's a blessing, not a curse. It's a good time to, you know, show who we are. If we make it through this, everything's going to be all right. I doubt we'll see much conflict. The world will be in ruins. It'll be up to us to fix it. But this all starts with us ending this. Together. And I'm gonna keep fighting until I die. For Carley.." I looked up at Glenn who was staring back at me.

"That was beautiful, man." He sighed.

"Thanks. What're you making of all this?"

"I don't really know. I mean, I like to think that this will all blow over, but like you said, we know nothing about this. You might be entirely right that it's all over. I just… I don't know."

I frowned. "So what're we going to do about the girl? I can still hear her screaming a bit. You think we can do anything?"

He shrugged. "I can't just leave her in good conscience, but there's still so many out there that I'm not sure we can do anything. Like, if this all goes smoothly, I'd like to at least try."

I nodded, but didn't say a word. I looked over at him as he slowly peeked out to look at the situation. "Hey I think they're here." He whispered.

He opened it up fully. "Guys! Oh man am I glad you're here."

"Jesus Glenn!" I heard my fiancee hiss at him. I poked my head out and smiled to see Lee and Carley standing there, the latter pointing a handgun at the container. Glenn jumped out of the container and I followed him and the others behind a low wall. I quickly kissed Carley.

"Well that wasn't so bad." Lee whispered.

"So can we get out of here before one of these things notice us?" My fiancee asked impatiently. I looked around and saw a dozen or so walkers in the area, but less than earlier.

"Not yet." Glenn stated. "There's survivor trapped up there." He pointed to the door that was being assaulted by the walkers.

"No way. We gotta go NOW." Carley rejected his proposal. I agreed. It wasn't worth the risk. But Glenn was adamant that we should try.

"Come on. We can't just leave her."

"Damn right we can't." Our former professor agreed, to me and Carley's surprise.

"You guys are suicidal, over a girl!" My fiancee protested.

"I'm saving her, with or without you."

"You sure about this?" I asked Glenn.

"Think about if it was Carley" Lee shot at me. I had to give the man credit. He knew how to persuade me.

"Fine. Let's go save Glenn's damsel in distress." Carley reluctantly agreed.

"I'll cover you guys. If we get in any trouble we're gonna need to book it. I don't want to risk anything over this woman." Glenn and Lee frowned but nodded. I quickly darted over behind a car on the side of the road and kept my rifle up and my head on a swivel. I was putting myself at risk by facing away from the woods, but I didn't have much of a choice. I looked on as Lee led the group towards a pickup truck, with a pillow in hand. What did he have in mind with that? Smother them to death?

My question was answered as he motioned to Carley and the two walked towards a walker sitting down by a car. Lee covered the walker and Carley shot it through the pillow, acting like a makeshift suppressor. Genius. Lee quietly broke into the car and shifted it into reverse, slowly backing up into another preoccupied walker. The was immobilized but the whole scene made some noise, attracting another walker that must've been munching on a corpse.

As Lee and company moved back to the pickup, I crept up behind the stumbling walker and bashed him with the butt of my rifle, stunning it and knocking it to the ground. While it was down, I stomped on its skull and crushed the brain, killing it immediately. This got a thumbs up from Glenn and I moved behind the wall to continue covering the group. I keep my eye on one walker in particular, he was standing by a parked RV, but he was looking towards the group. Some glass shattered far to my right as I saw Lee reaching into the pickup truck.

"What the fuck?" I cursed out loud. Lee pulled out something long and sharp, maybe a pick of some sorts. That would be effective to quickly dispatch the walkers quietly. He made his way back to my position.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"I'm gonna make my way to that walker behind the RV, and then get the one pinned behind the car. Then we can get the ones up top." He responded, already on his way to the RV. Moments later, I heard the squish of the pick impaling the walker and the thud of a body falling. The next order of business was the one pinned behind the car. Despite its efforts, the walker soon met its fate as Lee stabbed the pick straight through its skull, slamming its head on the trunk of the car. He lost the pick in the process, but that wasn't much of an issue given the fire axe that was sitting right next to the dead walker. Lee, now wielding an axe, slowly made his way up a flight of stairs to the second level, where the last walkers continued to relentlessly assault the door, and the woman behind it was still crying out for help.

"You guys lag behind if this goes to hell" Lee whispered to the three of us.

"We'll be behind you" Carley assured him. We watched from a distance as our former professor viciously maimed the pair of walkers, leaving the only noises in the night our footsteps and the woman crying for help.

We approached the door to find that it had been lightly barricaded from the outside. Whoever did this didn't want her to leave.

"Hello in there. We're here to help" Lee knocked on the door.

"Please just go away!" She cried out.

"Let's go guys" Carley said impatiently.

"In a minute" Lee said, still trying to help the woman. "If you open the door, we can get you to a safer place. We've got a group in town." He said to the woman.

"No no no please! Just go!" She pleaded.

Lee, determined to help her, told her we were coming in and proceeded to break down the door. He raised his axe and slammed it down on the board locking her in, splintering it and freeing the door to be opened.

"Stop Stop! I'm…. I'm coming out…" She said weakly, giving in to Lee.

And so she did. The door unlocked and a woman of similar height to Carley stepped out, her skin pale and her eyes bloodshot. She looked absolutely awful. Her clothes were caked in dirt, blood, and grime. And I could see deep crimson blood dripping from her side. She was hurt. Or even….

"Oh God" I heard come from Carley. She was thinking the same thing I was.

"We have to get you help!" Glenn exclaimed. I shook my head. It was too late. She was a goner.

"It's too late for that." She weakly let out.

"Guys, she's been bit." Carley pointed to her injury. The woman nodded.

"I told you, stay away! I'm bit! But you wouldn't just leave…" She started crying.

"Fuck me…." I muttered.

"Let's calm down. You could be fine." Lee tried to reason with her. He was wrong. She wasn't going to make it much longer. I had a feeling he knew it too.

"I won't be fine!" She yelled. "My boyfriend was bitten! You get sick, and you die, and you come back and kill anything you can find!" She cried out.

"You have a boyfriend?" Glenn said dejected. We all shot him looks that said 'What the fuck?'

"I don't want that. It's not Christian. Just leave me, please go."

"Come with us, we'll find you some help." Lee was making a last-stitch effort at this. It was hopeless. She was done.

She looked over at Carley's gun, and then up at her. "Y-y-you have a gun."

"So?" my fiancee asked.

"Can I borrow it?"

"What do you mean, borrow?"

The woman was about to answer but I did it for her. "I think we all know what she's saying, Carley." We did. She was looking for the way out.

"Woah woah woah" Lee tried to intervene.

"Please! I don't want to be one of them! They're…. They're…. Satanic." She might've been a tad religious.

"We can't let you do this" Lee said. I wasn't sure why he was saying this. He knew what had to be done. She was making the right decision, but I didn't have the heart to tell the others that.

"Please, let me borrow it. It'll be 2 seconds, 1 bullet. Please" She slowly approached my fiancee. Suddenly, she lunged for the gun and staring wrestling Carley for it. As Lee, Glenn, and myself tried to get her off Carley, the balcony gave way. The 5 of us fell to the cold, hard concrete parking lot as she reached for Carley's gun once again. This time, she grabbed it and slowly rose to her feet, pointing it at her temple.

"Please, we just want to help." Lee asked her one last time.

"You can't" And she pulled the trigger. Her lifeless body fell limp on the ground. The four of us stared at the body for what felt like ages. It was deathly silent, except for the sounds of Glenn getting sick next to me.

"Jesus Christ…." I muttered at the sight of it all. My hunch from earlier was seeming more and more accurate as time went on. This wasn't going to be over within a week.

"Come on. Let's go." I heard Carley say. I looked towards the treeline and saw a group of walkers heading towards us. We rang the dinner bell once again.

We ran off into the twilight back towards the pharmacy.

 **Well, that's it for Chapter 5. I'm having a lot of fun writing this and being on Winter Break for a couple more weeks, I should be able to crank out another chapter or 2 before I have to go back to college. Hope you guys have enjoyed thus far, and are looking forward to the coming chapters.**


	6. Life and Death

Chapter 6: Life and Death

"Everyone all right?" The man from earlier asked us as we entered the pharmacy once again. It didn't seem much better than before. Larry was still down and Lily was still stressing over him. I guess they had Doug on watch which was interesting to say the least.

"Yeah. We had some close calls but Glenn and Ian are fine, and well… yeah…. We're ok." Lee nodded.

"And we've got some gas for your pickup." Glenn was looking down the whole time. He still felt guilty about that whole situation with the woman at the motor inn. I didn't blame him for doing what he did, but at the same time I don't think it was worth it at all.

"What about back here?" Carley asked.

"Pretty quiet" The man said. "Our friend over there is in and out of it over there. He won't survive anymore stress." He nodded towards Lilly tending to her father.

"The next order of business is getting those pills out of the pharmacy." Lee pointed to an office door which likely led into the pharmacy. The other man nodded and walked over to be with the blonde woman and the young boy, who I assumed to be his family.

"Have you met Kenny and his family yet?" My fiancee asked me. I shook my head to her. She led me over to the three of them. "Kenny, this is my fiancee, Ian. Ian, Kenny." I shook his hand. He had an extremely firm grip.

"So you're the fiance. Carley was saying a bit about you. Said you played football for Georgia and got drafted into the NFL."

I gave a half-smile half-frown. "Yeah. That'd be me. The football star who lost his shot before he had it." I shrugged.

"Well this is my wife Katjaa," He pointed to a bigger blonde woman, who smiled warmly at me and Carley, "And Ken Jr., but we usually call him Duck." He pointed to his son.

"You two are so young, and yet engaged." Katjaa pointed out. "It's nice. It's good to see that you guys know you're right for each other." This got a blush from Carley and a massive grin from me.

"I proposed to her the day I got drafted. We were getting close to 2 years together and I knew I wanted her and only her. Hopefully we'll get married at some point during this mess." I kissed her on the cheek, getting a giggle from her.

"So you guys knew Lee before all this? Before this mess started?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah, Ian and I had a class with him our second semester of our sophomore year. He taught, what was it, Civil War History I think? Something like that. Anyways he was our professor in college and we were friendly with each other." Carley smiled and looked over at Lee, who was looking outside with Doug.

"It was refreshing to see a familiar face that wasn't a walker, for once." I frowned thinking about Mick and my parents. I couldn't believe it had only been 3 days since. "So what're you guys thinking about all this? Like for the future?"

"The future? I'll be honest I have no fuckin' clue. I would hope that this all fizzles out soon, but if it doesn't I guess I'm gonna try to get my family back home to Florida and get onto my boat. From there, I guess we'd have to see. What about y'all?"

"Well home isn't too much of an option for us right now. But to be honest I'm gonna do what I can to keep Carley safe. And if we find a permanent solution, we find it. If we don't, so be it. But I am absolutely in the same boat as you for hoping this is over quickly."

"I don't think much of anyone isn't." Kenny agreed with me. The attention shifted over to Lee, who closed the door to the store, keys in hand. He walked over to Lily and her father and showed her.

"I got them."

"Great! Thank God, you're amazing." Lily was ecstatic. The two went into the office to enter the pharmacy.

"Looks like Larry's gonna make it after all." I said under my breath.

"That a good thing or a bad thing?" I heard Kenny whisper to me. I shrugged lightly in response. A loud ringing noise emanated throughout the room. The alarm was going off. The clanging noise would spread out into the streets, attracting every walker for blocks.

"Shit!" I yelled out. "What the fuck?"

It was once again complete chaos. The 11 of us were scrambling around, trying to figure out what to do in the brief amount of time we had before walkers would get in. Kenny yelled something and ran out the back door, maybe out to his truck? Lilly walked her father to the back door and Doug desperately held the door to barricade it. I pointed my rifle at the door, waiting for them to eventually pour in and try to overtake us. My fiancee and Lee joined Doug as I started to hear their groans clearly, and as more showed up the more of a push they started putting on the door. It seemed like this would be a losing battle for us very quickly.

To make matters even worse, I heard some glass shattering to my left. They were finding another way in. And as the first walker made his way in, he almost immediately dropped. Carley shot at several more as she got closer to me. More gunshots rang out as I took her spot next to Lee.

This door wasn't going to hold. I could feel it. Every few pushes they would open the door a bit, forcing Lee to make an extra effort to force it shut. Another window was shattered by the walker onslaught and Doug ran to defend that one, leaving me and Lee covering the main entrance. Doug might've been the heaviest of the three of us, so him leaving put more of the load on myself and Lee, making it easier for the walkers to try and get us.

Lee's little girl ran up to us with a fancy cane. I'm not sure what it was doing here or where she got it, but I wasn't in much of a position to ask questions. Lee took the cane and slid it into the door handles, jamming the door and buying us some time.

I looked over at Carley and saw her struggling with a walker. She tried shooting it, but her clip was empty. Another walker grabbed hold of her ankle. To my right, Doug was being grabbed by several walkers through the window. He couldn't hold them off much longer. I had to make a decision who I went for.

So I did.

I pulled the trigger once, and the walker Carley was struggling with dropped down to the floor. I did the same for the one grabbing her ankle. Now free from their grasps, Carley ran towards the back and we both turned to Doug.

Lee made an honest effort to save him. There were just too many. Despite Lee's efforts, the walkers successfully dragged Doug out the window, and all we could hear were Doug's pained screams as the horde ate him alive.

Kenny opened the back door just as the walkers broke down the front door. "Let's go!" He bellowed urgently. That was it. I pushed Carley lightly towards the door and covered our escape. Less than a minute later, we were all in the back of Kenny's truck. Well, almost all of us. Lee was missing.

"Where's Lee?" I asked.

"That son of a bitch isn't coming with us." Larry glared. "He can go rot in Hell for all I care."

"Oh for fuck's sake." I shook my head at Larry and hopped out of the truck and saw Kenny helping Lee up. "Come on guys!" They ran past me and I sprayed a volley of bullets into the crowd of walkers approaching me before running to the truck with them. Once I got in I hit the car twice to indicate to Kenny that he should go.

"Everyone ok?" Carley asked. Everyone nodded.

We decided to hunker down for the night in the motor inn. It wasn't big, but it seemed like a solid short-term option. Carley was shaken up by the whole incident. I couldn't blame her. She almost died, but I couldn't help but feel like I put her in that position. But I tried to justify that to myself by trying to think that if I didn't help Lee, we'd all be dead, instead of just Doug. Regardless, we were safe. For now.

I saw Glenn close a car door and take off, without even saying goodbye to us after a conversation with Lee. Lee shook his head and walked over to us. "Hey you two. How're you guys holding up?"

"She's pretty shaken up. Not bit or anything but I think she's upset about Doug. I know you tried to help and there was nothing we could've done. I just wish both could've lived, y'know? But what's important is she's alive and that's good enough for me." I looked over at her. She had been crying a bit, and kept looking down at what she was doing.

"Alright. Hopefully she feels better about all this soon." He smiled sincerely.

"Wait, Lee, one more thing. Does anyone know about…. You know?" I asked my former professor. If people knew, this would affect group tensions.

"I don't know outside of you and Carley. The way Larry treated me as we left the pharmacy was not very encouraging that he didn't know. But he also could just be a racist dick. Outside of that, I don't think anyone knows. And I'd like to keep it that way. If everyone knows about my past I can't imagine it'll be well-received." Lee looked at Larry and then towards Lilly, the prior scowling at Lee.

"We'll keep it on the low. Don't worry." I assured him.

"Thanks"

"No problem"

Professor Lee Everett had taught history at the University of Georgia for 6 years. Towards the end of that sixth year, Lee found someone, a state senator no less, involved in an affair with his wife. An altercation between the two men occurred shortly after Lee's discovery, and Lee killed the senator. Naturally, Lee was caught red-handed and fired from the University. The trial did not exactly go well either, with Lee being found guilty of second-degree murder. This carried a life sentence and he was supposed to start the sentence the day after this whole mess started. Word about this spread very quickly through the campus. There wasn't a single student that hadn't heard the basic details of the story, but Carley's internship at WABE got her the special details of the case, the ones that most people hadn't known. Miraculously, it didn't seem that many people outside of Athens had heard. It didn't seem like anyone in the group knew definitively. Maybe we were lucky and this would be peaceful.

We had shelter, we had water, and light. This could work out fine. There were worse places to be. As though it were on cue, the main light for the motor inn cut out, and then the rest of the lights followed suit. So much for the light. Maybe this was a foreshadow for life to come.

 **Well that's it for chapter 6. Just a short chapter and that also ends Episode 1 of Season 1. Things should be getting more fun really soon. Hpe you guys enjoyed :]**


	7. 100 Days In

Chapter 7: 100 Days In

 **3 Months Later-Present Day**

This mess started three months ago. At least, that's what the date says. But in reality, it feels like years. Carley and I can barely sleep at night, and judging by the demeanor of the group, I doubt anyone else can either. Lily and Larry are always on edge. Lily because she's taken on many of the responsibilities as leader of the group and Larry because he's a massive dick. But that's beside the point. Kenny finds himself butting heads with Lily in what is as close to a power struggle as I can think of. Kenny is arguing that we should leave and head South towards Florida, but Lily says that the motor inn still has some time left in it, so we should hold out as long as we can. I honestly don't know who is right and who is wrong, if either of them are right at all. Duck is still goofy and Katjaa tries to remain in pretty good spirits. Lee tries to stay positive about everything, but I can tell the main thing he cares about is his little girl, Clementine, who I soon found out wasn't actually his daughter. Just a kid he ran into when this started who was alone. If you saw him with Clementine, you'd never think he'd murdered a senator in cold blood.

During a supply run, the group came across a guy named Mark, who Lily knew from the Air Force. Mark had been holding out in the Air Force base and was able to stockpile quite a bit of food, which he was more than willing to share by the time he joined our group. That kept us fed for the last two and a half months, but much like our luck, the food stock was running dry. We maybe have a week's worth left. Mark's a pretty nice guy. He knows a lot about survival and is very down to Earth about it, even helping teach the kids how to tie knots and other important tips like that. While it doesn't resonate all that well with the kids, he still puts in the effort for them, so credit is given where due.

As do many things in life, we soon had a daily routine going. Kenny, Lee, and Mark usually would go on supply runs, Carley and Lilly would switch off on doing watches, and Larry would focus on sealing the perimeter. Katjaa takes care of the kids. I'd usually switch between going on supply runs and doing watches. While tensions continue to rose, at least this routine would keep us organized, even if we were about to lose our minds.

The sun made its way through the cracks in between the shades and hits my eyes, much like the day we first joined this group. I feel Carley still laying next to me, she continues lightly snoring as I slowly lean up and get out of the bed for the day. I walk into the bathroom praying for even a little water to come through the pipes, just enough for a quick shower. But as expected, nothing. I sigh as I throw on a pair of jeans and a light jacket and step outside into the brisk late-October morning. Lily's up at her post on top of the RV, doing watch while Lee, Mark, and Kenny were out hunting. Duck and Clementine are drawing with chalk on the concrete. Larry is working on building a fence to fortify the area, I guess we know whose side he's on.

I feel a set of arms hug me from behind. My fiancee was awake.

"Morning baby" I turn my head around and smile at her.

"Morning handsome" She whispers in my ear and lightly kisses my cheek.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Probably about as good a sleep you can get in about 3 hours."

"I hear that. I could barely sleep either. I might lose it if I don't get a good night's sleep soon." I hear a sharp whistle coming from Lily, who's aiming a rifle out towards the woods. Everything is dead silent, except for the soft breeze on the trees.

"Get the gates open! We got wounded!" Lee cries out from the treeline. Mark's carrying a man who happens to be missing the bottom half of his left leg and bleeding profusely from the wound. A teenage boy donning a blue letterman jacket is with them too. Lee shoves the gate open and commotion ensues. Lily interrogates Lee about who this person is, Katjaa trying to fix the man, Larry berating Lee, everyone yelling about something. But, naturally, Lily's voice stood above the rest.

"What the hell, Lee? You can't just bring new people in here. What are you thinking?"

"Hey calm down for a fuckin' minute" Kenny fired at Lily.

"Hey watch your damn mouth" Larry said.

"No. I want to find out why you though bringing more mouths to feed was a good idea." Lily's face is bright red now. We're already low as is, so she has a point. But still, the man would've probably bled out. Hell, who knows if he'll even make it.

"He would've died out there!" Lee took the words right out of my mind.

"So what?" Larry said coldly.

"We are not in charge of every struggling survivor we come across. WE have to focus on OUR group. Right here, right now." Lily points at the ground to make her point, and Larry smiles. He must be proud. The apple must not fall far from the tree, after all.

"Well hold on, we haven't even talked to these people. Maybe they can be helpful." I smile towards my fiancee, who once again proves she's the moral compass of the group.

"Well I don't suppose you guys are carrying groceries, are you?" She coldly stares at the teenage boy, who looks like he's about to pass out or throw up.

"N-n-no" He weakly lets out as Lily keeps glaring.

"Welcome to the family, kid." Mark mutters to the kid as he shakes his head and walks away. Clementine tugs on the boy's sleeve and drags him away. Maybe the situation is starting to dissolve. Kenny walks over to Lilly and of course, tempers continue to rise.

"You know, you like to think you're the leader of this group. But we can make our own god damn decisions. This isn't your little personal dictatorship." Kenny starts to get up in her face. And Larry looked ready to smack him.

"Kenny stop being dramatic!" Carley cries out. "Everything turns into a power struggle between you two. I'm not gonna be a part of that." She walks away from the argument throwing her hands into the air in frustration. I sigh and turn towards her, about to go after her, but second thoughts tell me otherwise, so I stay back to see how this argument goes.

"Hey, I didn't ask to lead this group. Everyone was happy to have me being the one distributing the food when there was enough to go around. But now that it's running out, suddenly I'm a goddamn Nazi." she shot back at Kenny.

"Hey, does it really matter who's in charge? I mean like, come on. We gotta help these people out. We can't be turning on each other." I try to dissolve the situation myself, but both Lilly and Kenny give me bad looks.

"Shut the fuck up, Ian." Lilly says bluntly.

"Yeah you fucking pansy. What'll it take for you to realize my girl's right? I don't see any of you assholes stepping up to make the hard decisions. My girl's got more balls than the rest of you combined!" I grit my teeth and exhale sharply at his remark but try to get the image of his daughter with a cock and a pair of balls out of my head.

"Dad…" Lilly says, clearly not comfortable about that last remark either, "Why don't you go help Mark build the fence?" He gives Lee a dirty look before joining Mark on the other side of the parking lot.

"Do you think this is easy for me? Everyone's starting to hate me because I'm the one that rations my food. But nobody else wants to." she hisses at us while walking over to the small backpack with rations and pulls out a small amount of food. She hands this food to Lee. "I'm not dealing with this bullshit today. You decide who eats." I frown and go sit down next to Carley, who's watching the kids draw.

"You hear all that?" I ask her.

"Yep"

"This isn't gonna last."

"I know."

"So what do we do?"

"I'm not sure. To be honest, I'm not sure if this'll ever smoothen out. And I feel like someone's gonna end up dead over it. I just don't want it to be you or me." I smile knowing my fiancee doesn't want me dead.

"Well I don't exactly like the idea of just leaving, either. I mean, we don't know what's out there. I've been hearing what Kenny's been saying. If he gets that RV working we might as well leave with him. In all honesty, I think I trust him at this point more than Lilly."

"Yeah I agree. Lilly has way too short of a fuse to have this much power. But do you know who I think should be making the decisions? Lee. He's kept a level head the most out of all of us. I don't she he isn't calling the shots right now."

"That's interesting. Maybe one of us should run that idea by him." My girlfriend smiles at my agreement.

"I'll ask him" she says as we see Lee hand half an apple to Clementine, who seems to be the happiest one here. Carley is right. Lee should be calling the shots. Even despite his past, he's clearly one of the more ethical members of the group. We need people like him in charge.

"Hey." Lee approaches us. "Are you two hungry?"

"Well, I mean, who isn't" I try to smile at what I just said. "But I think there's people who need it more than me right now. So I'm all right." I'm not really all right. I haven't eaten in 2 days. It's a miracle I haven't passed out yet.

"Yeah me neither Lee." My fiancee's stomach rumbles in protest, getting a giggle out of her.

"Well here. You guys need to eat." Lee handed Carley a package of crackers. He walks away but pulls out a stick of beef jerky and gives it to Duck.

"Well that was nice of him" she slowly opens the package.

"Yeah it was. Eat up. You need it."

"What about you? You haven't eaten in days."

"Me? I'll live. I gotta keep the future Mrs. Sullivan fed." She blushes and giggles a bit more.

"Well it's not fair for my future husband to have to go without food when I have some." She takes out a cracker and hands it to me.

"And this is why you're the woman I'm gonna marry when this shit settles down." I grin and take the cracker, eating it in two bites. Getting something in my system helps, but it won't sustain me very long. Carley pulls me into a kiss and my lips meet hers once again.

"We're gonna be all right, you know that?" I break away from this kiss for a moment to say that as she nods. My lips meet hers again but this time, the kiss breaks up from Katjaa's blood-curdling scream. Carley and I spring up to see the man Lee brought in reanimated, grabbing Katjaa while laying in the pickup truck. Lee grabs the walker's head in an attempt to free Katjaa from his grip, but upon successfully doing so, I see my former professor in a similar position. Larry, surprisingly nimble given his age and size, runs over with the axe and swings it at the walker, missing it by a mile and lodging it into the rear window.

Lee manages to stun the walker for just enough time to crawl out of the truck before landing hard on the concrete. The walker follows him and suddenly it's back on top of him. Lee, once again seemingly losing to the walker, is saved by another gunshot to the walker's head. Once again, Carley saved his life. I offer him my hand.

"You good?"

"Yeah." he looks at Carley. "Thanks"

"Why'd you bring him here in the first place, asshole?" He roars over at the teen, who is visibly shaking from the situation. "You're gonna get us all killed!"

"Why didn't you tell us he was bitten?" Kenny asks in less harsh of a fashion but not exactly in a friendly way either.

"What? He wasn't bitten. Wait, do you guys not know?"

"Don't know what?" I ask with a confused look.

He looks at all of us for a few seconds before exhaling and looking down at the ground. "It's not the bite that does it…" he quietly says. "You come back, no matter how you die. If you don't destroy the brain, that's just what happens. It's gonna happen to all of us." No one says a word, stunned. So this is it. We can't win. We're all done.

"Son of a bitch" I whisper.

"So we're all infected? Everyone? God help us all…" Lee quietly asks him.

"I guess so. I don't know. All I know is I've seen people turn who were never bitten. When I first saw it happen, we were all hiding in the gym and we all thought we were safe. But one of the girls, Jenny Pitcher, couldn't take it anymore and she took a lot of pills. Someone went in the girls' room the next morning and… God…" he seems like he's about to break down in tears.

I look towards Carley to try to see her thoughts about this, but I soon find she is nowhere to be found. Her voice rings out from the other side of the motor inn, pistol drawn and aiming, behind cover.

"Back off!" I hear her yell. What the hell's going on?


	8. Heaven on Earth

Chapter 8 - Heaven on Earth

 **So it's been about 2 weeks since the last chapter I posted. With college starting up again for the second semester I'm only going to be able to do these about once a week or every other week. I'll try to stay consistent with that pace but I can't exactly guarantee that, either.**

"Woah! Lady relax. Me and my brother here, we just wanna know if y'all can help us out." a middle-aged man says, holding a gas can. Another man, I would assume his brother, was wielding a hunting rifle, but was not aiming it.

"I said back off!" My fiancee yells out louder.

"Carley, relax." I place a hand on her shoulder. She lowers her weapon slightly, not fully.

"Are you armed?" Lee calls out to the two.

"Well yeah. For protection. Dead could be anywhere." The brother replies.

"It looks like y'all have the upper hand here" the man adds.

"Why do you guys need gas?" Carley asks.

"Our place is protected by an electric fence." Eyebrows immediately shot up. "Generators provide the electricity. Said generators run on gas. We've got a dairy farm a few miles away, maybe we can talk about some sort of trade?" The larger brother smiles sincerely towards us. A dairy? Are they going to offer food for gas?

"How're y'all doing on food? We have plenty at the dairy" The man read my mind. This could be huge.

"Lee, go check out the place with Mark and see it's for real." Lilly nods over at the two of them.

"I'm coming with" Carley says adamantly. "I've got a weird feeling about these guys."

"Well I'm going too." I volunteer. If Carley has a weird feeling about them, I'm keeping her safe.

"Alright. You got a deal. We'll bring some gas to your dairy in exchange for some food. We'll see how it goes from there." The brothers smile and motion for us to come along. I ran to my room to grab my M4 and I joined the rest of them.

The brothers lead us down the road. Like they said, it's a several mile long walk, but that gave us plenty of time to introduce ourselves to the brothers and them to us. Their names are Andy and Danny St. John, Andy being the older brother by a few years. They lived on their family's dairy for their entire lives, and once all hell broke loose, they left their jobs to help defend their home. They have held out this long on the milk, butter, and cheese produced by their cows, as well as any vegetables they're able to grow in the garden. Carley also expressed her belief that Lee should be in charge to him, much to his surprise, but she made a pretty convincing argument. However, Lee expressed his concern about people potentially knowing his past. In fact, he confirmed that Larry knew about his past, which definitely would not help. But, Lee was able to open up a bit more about the whole incident. He told us that he didn't mean to kill the Senator. It was only an accident. Nonetheless he still felt guilty about the whole matter, even though this was months in the past. I also found out that the teenager's name was Ben. He was a band geek and how he was able to make it 3 months will forever be on my mind until I can find an answer other than sheer luck.

"You think you're gonna cut me out of this?" A rough voice rings out from the woods.

"Shit. Get down." Andy whispers to us. We all listen to him and slowly crouch over toward where the voice is coming from.

"No one is trying to cut you out of anything" We hear another voice argue. We finally see who is arguing, two masked adult men, one holding a shotgun, the other a crossbow.

"Fuckin' bandits" I hear Danny mutter.

"Who?" Lee asks.

"Those look like the people who raided my camp." Ben points out.

"There's only two of them. Should we take them out?" Carley asks.

"No no. There's a lot more of 'em." Danny rejects Carley's proposal.

"Don't worry, Danny and I got your backs if something happens, but let's wait this out and see if they move on." Andy assures us as we watch the bandits go back and forth with each other. Suddenly, the one with the shotgun aims it at his buddy and pulls the trigger without any hesitation.

"Fuck you!" He yells out and continues yelling it in time with his gunshots. After another 4 or 5 shots, he finally backs away and walks off.

"Jesus Christ" I whisper. We watched a man get murdered in cold blood. That might've been worse than Doug's demise.

"The world out here has gone to shit. Let's get to the dairy, where it's safe." Andy remarked. He could say that again.

Some 20 minutes later or so, we finally saw it, a beautiful white ranch house with green grass as far as the eye can see. It looked surprisingly normal, given our circumsatnces.

"Here it is, the St. John's Dairy" Andy says with a hint of pride in his voice. I can't blame him. I'd want to live here, and I'm not even big on farms.

"You see that? That's how we keep the place so safe." Danny pointed to a fence making a light buzzing noise. The electric fence.

"The fence keeps them out?" Mark asks.

"You betcha. They fry like bugs in a zapper." Andy chuckles. "We're pushing about 4000 volts into that thing."

"I'm gonna assume that's a lot." Carley says.

"Well roughly 100 volts can kill you, so multiply that by 40, I guess." I shrug to Carley. She shudders at the thought of that.

"Speaking of that, you ever have any accidents? We've got kids with us." Lee pointed out.

"Nah. Not one." Danny shook his head.

"Trust us, it is safer in here than it is out there." Andy smiles proudly as we enter the fortified farmland.

"This place, it's like Heaven on Earth" I let out. "You'd never know everyone else is eating each other. It's… It's incredible."

"I thought I saw y'all with company coming down the drive" says a slightly bigger woman with bright red hair and a glowing smile.

"Guys," Andy introduces the woman, "this is our momma".

"I'm Brenda St. John and welcome to the St. John Dairy." Brenda smiles in the warmest smile I've seen in a while. She seemed like the living, breathing definition of the term 'Southern Hospitality'.

"This here's Lee and his group. They're living down at the old motor inn down the way." Andy points to us.

"Oh my," Brenda looks shocked, "That old motor inn? It's pretty vulnerable. Do you have anyone with survival experience?"

"We have a few ex-military, but we all work together." Lee explains.

"That's great to hear. That motel ain't the safest place. But now that y'all are here, we'll make sure you're safe and comfortable."

"Does that offer apply to the rest of us?" Lee asks, referring to the six still at the motor inn.

"We're all incredibly hungry" Carley adds.

"Well there are for y'all, baked fresh this morning." Brenda hands Carley a basket full of biscuits.

"Amazing" Calrey smiles with a grin about as big as the day I proposed to her.

"Wow. It's been a minute since I've had a fresh biscuit." I feel myself starting to drool a bit.

"Can't get stuff like that anymore, can you? Not without a cow for milk and butter." Danny chuckled a bit.

"That's right. Hopefully Maybelle will get through whatever this is she's got." Brenda frowns but nods toward the shed.

"Your cow's sick? We have a vet. She can help." Lee replies to the woman, whose expression did a complete 180.

"A vet? Oh my! Our prayers have been answered!" Brenda laughed excitedly.

"Maybe our whole group can come… for the day?" Mark asks politely.

"Well how about this? Y'all go and get your veterinary friend and I'll prepare us a big feast for all you hungry souls. It'll be nice to have some folks around here to help out again, won't it Danny?" Brenda turns to her son. He nods in agreement.

"Carley and I can head back and get the others over here. If everything goes well we'll all be here by dusk and enjoying a real meal, for once." I smile and turn towards the gate with Carley. She nods and follows me out.

"You guys take care of yourselves until then" she calls out before we officially go on our way.

"These guys are the real deal" I say as I grab another biscuit. If these biscuits are any indication of what kind of cook Brenda St. John is, then I can't wait to see what she has in store for dinner.

"These people are a godsend, Ian. I had a funny vibe about them earlier, but these biscuits are incredible. It's nice to finally meet some good, honest people again. And who knows, maybe the dairy turns into something permanent. I don't think anyone in the group would mind that." Carley reaches for another biscuit, too.

"I'm not sold on the whole dairy, yet. Let's take this one step at a time and make sure that it'd be a safe long-term solution before we think about committing to anything, you know?"

"Yeah, you're right. I'm just kinda sick of not feeling safe. The motor inn isn't exactly the most durable place. And if they've got a consistent supply of food, that's something worth considering, too."

"You're probably right. I mean, the St. Johns seem really genuine. We can give it a shot and everything but we need to be careful. I just wanna make sure you're safe."

"Well of course I'm right" Carley playfully punches me in the arm. "It's something we should really consider." I nod in agreement. It's at least worth discussing with rest of the group.

Soon enough, the motor inn comes into view. The members still there stare hungrily at the basket, seeing the food.

"Well?" Larry asks.

"Take a look for yourself" Carley opens the basket, revealing the biscuits. Larry's eyes nearly pop out of his skull.

"Mother of God…" he stammers

"And there's a whole lot more where that came from" I add.

"Well where is the place?" Lilly asks, grabbing a biscuit.

"Like 3 or 4 miles that way." I point to the way we came. "You can't miss it. There's a big white sign leading you through some woods into the dairy. At that point you just follow the path for maybe 5 or 6 minutes and then you're there." I describe the route to her.

"Got it. Since you've already eaten, can you guys stay back and keep watch? We'll send someone after dinner if everything works out." Lilly asks of us as she gets ready to head out with the rest of the group.

"Sure. Sounds good." I nod to Lilly and walk over towards the RV. I climb the ladder and sit down on top, rifle in hand. Carley sits down next to me. Several uneventful hours pass by as we sit, looking out for anything.

"I've been thinking about some things…" she looks off into the woods. "I've always wondered about the future with you and everything. Like when you proposed, I was always thinking you wouldn't have proposed so early. But I'm glad you did. And I hope we can get married at some point in this mess. Maybe even sooner than later." She shrugs and looks at me.

"Well I definitely think that's something we have to think about. And I don't exactly think we're gonna have to worry about marriage licenses or any of that shit right now. I know it wouldn't exactly be your dream wedding, but we'll make it work. And hey, when this shit's over, we'll give you your dream wedding. Sparing no expense. I'll rent out fucking Buckingham Palace if you like." This gets a laugh out of my fiancée.

"Maybe that's a bit overboard." She says with a giggle.

"For you, nothing is overboard. And I mean it. You say the word I will go right to the Queen's doorstep."

She grins widely. "As nice as that sounds, I'm thinking maybe a small wedding. And maybe we take a nice trip to Paris or Italy for our honeymoon."

"I was always partial to taking a nice cruise to the Bahamas." I suggest to her. "But we've got plenty of time to think about that."

She pulls out a biscuit for each of us and we munch on them as the sky slowly starts to set. I see a mischievous smile form on her face.  
"So…. We haven't fooled around in a while. You wanna have a little fun?"

"Uhh…." My mind is telling me no. We're on watch. Save the sex for later. "Sure, let's do it." I get up and follow her off the RV into our room. Damn it. She pulls me into a kiss as we close the door.

Carley collapses down next to me some time later, the two of us panting heavily. Her lips meet mine in another passionate kiss. The only sounds we can hear are our blissful moans and a light rainfall that had started.

"Ian, that was incredible. We haven't done it in so long." She rolls out of bed to throw on a shirt.

"You're right. That was way too long since." I check my watch and see that it's almost 9:30 already. "Shit it's getting late. Think we should go out to the dairy? Someone should've came here by now."

"I think so." She opens the door and we walk out into the light rainfall towards the St. John Dairy.

By the time we get there, the rain had started coming down harder. The house is completely dark, aside from a few illuminated rooms scattered amongst the floors.

"Hey I think I see Lee. What's he doing outside?" Carley asks, slowly making her way through a small cornfield. We reach the edge of the cornfield and sure enough, there was our former professor, crouching under a small overhang.

"Carley! Ian!" he quietly calls out to us.

"Is everything ok? You guys have been gone way too long." she whispers to him.

"We need your help. It's a bit of a situation."

"Yeah, I figured when no one came back. What's going on?"

"Larry's dead. And they chopped off Mark's legs and tried to feed them to us!"

"Cannibals? Shit what the fuck?" My stomach churns at the thought of that. Carley was right to have a funny feeling about them. But hindsight is 20/20.

"Is everyone else ok?" Carley looks towards the house, where we hear a feminine scream, maybe Katjaa's?

"They've got Duck and Katjaa in the house. And I don't know where the fuck Kenny is." Lee nods towards the house as well.

"We're gonna get in here and help you guys break out of here." I assure Lee.

"Don't use the main gate. It's too dangerous. There's another gate around back. Use that one. And be careful with the fence."

"Roger that." I give Lee a quick salute.

"You guys have weapons, right?" Lee asks us one last question.

"We never leave home without 'em." Carley pulls out her Glocke and I show Lee my M4.

"Be careful, you two." Lee leaves us with those parting words.

"You too. Come on Carley, let's get in there."

We approach the gate on the other side of the farm. A light bulb quickly flickers on and off, signifying that there still is some power. We open the fence door slowly, which thankfully was not wired, and run over towards the side of the house. A dark figure emerges from the house and walks around towards the front. Gun in hand. In front, there's a smaller figure walking slowly.

"Hey," Carley notices them, too. "Is that-"

"It's Andy. I think that's Duck in front. The motherfuckers are taking hostages."

"I can take the shot."

"Easy Carley, wait till we can find a better shot. It's too risky with Duck at stake." The two of them disappear back in front of the house, and Carley and I follow, keeping a low profile and using the shadows to cloak ourselves.

"Don't you fucking move!" Andy bellows. He aims a rifle at Kenny and holds Duck in a choke hold.

"Fuck you! Give me back my son!" Kenny roars back, slowly stepping towards Andy. If looks could kill, Andy would be long gone and it would be done in brutal fashion.

"I said, 'Don't move' asshole!" Andy tightens his grip on Duck.

"Don't you fucking hurt him!" Kenny freezes but continues to yell out to Andy.

"Andy don't!" Lee finds himself at the end of a gun as Andy shifts his aim.

"Shut up!" Kenny takes this opportunity to rush Andy, but to no avail as Andy fires at Kenny. Carley gasps as we see Kenny drop to the ground in pain.

"I'm shooting the bastard."

"Do you have a shot?"

"As good as I'm gonna get" I hear Carley hold her breath like a marksman and steady herself.

"Do it. Kill him."

She does. Or so I think. There's no denying that shot didn't hit him in the head, but evidently not in a part that kills you, shown by Andy clutching his ear and still standing.

"Shit. He's still up." Carley mutters to herself, lining up a second shot.

"Carley wait. Look." Lee had rushed Andy, and the two are fighting, throwing punches at each other but ideally trying to pin the other down, likely to the death. I aim my rifle at the scene, trying to find a clean shot at Andy, but Lee and him trip, falling down a slope and into the picket fence, meters away from the electric fence. Andy flips on a switch, lighting the bulb up on the fence and fully activating the fence. He drags Lee over to the fence, slowly putting him closer to it in an attempt to kill him.

"Take the shot Ian" My fiancee whispers. "He'll kill Lee."

And so I do.

Andy falls down hard this time. It isn't a lethal shot, but a shot going clean through the shoulder isn't exactly something someone can walk off either. I hear Andy scream out in pain, but frankly I don't care much of what happens to that asshole. Lee slowly stumbles towards Andy, and starts going to town on the son of a bitch.

"Come on. It's over." I motion Carley over to the rest of the group. We join the rest of the group as Lee keeps beating up Andy.

Lee rises up after throwing several more punches, and Andy desperately tries to sit up, with moderate success.

"Is that all you got, Lee? You ain't shit!" He says through slightly slurred speech. Big talk coming from the guy who just got wailed on and has a fucked-up face. Lee turns around for a moment, only to yell one thing at him.

"It's over!"

Andy slowly struggles to sit up, but it finally able to, coughing up some blood in the process.

"Fuck… you. You're in real trouble when Momma and Danny come out." Interesting, neither of the two could be seen. My guess is they had met their demise earlier. They'd for sure be out here by now if that weren't the case.

"They're not coming" Lee confirms my speculations. Andy was the only St. John currently alive.

Andy stands there, shocked, and starts crying. I feel exactly zero sympathy for him.

"Don't you dare walk away from me, Lee! Get back here and finish this!" He desperately cries out. I guess he's had it. But Lee ignores his pleas for death, and walks off without saying a word. The rest of the group follows suit. The St. John Dairy, at one point said to be Heaven on Earth, turned out to be a worse Hell than one could imagine.

 **Well that's all for chapter 8. Chapter 9 will be out next week but it'll be a short one, just finishing up Episode 2. Hope you guys enjoyed :]**


	9. The Cost of Living

Chapter 9: The Cost of Living

"Hey Lee. I'd say we're sorry for leaving the motel unattended but, you know." Carley was right. We left the motel, but I would say the ends justify the means here.

"I'm just glad you showed up when you did. If you hadn't taken that shot at Andy, we might not have gotten out of there." Lee responds.

"So the St. Johns were actually cannibals? God damn… How'd you guys find out?" I ask Lee, who frowns at my question.

"I saw Mark, legless in the bathroom. He told me as he was bleeding out to not eat dinner. I was getting a funny vibe from them up until that point but that sealed the deal for me. What made me real suspicious was this equipment they had in the barn. Andy said it was for anything they hunted, which I guess wasn't necessarily a lie, just not what was expected, or humane. Those sick fucks tried to justify it. 'Give up part of yourself for the good of the group'. Give me a break." Lee explains, shaking his head.

"Did anyone eat, well you know, Mark?" Carley asks, pointing to the Lee's "daughter".

"Thankfully no, I was able to stop her. But I'm not sure who else ate it. The good thing is I don't think anyone can get sick from it.

"How so?" I respond confused.

"Danny said something before I killed him. The meat isn't tainted until you die. That's why they kept Mark alive. The meat stays good as long as the person isn't dead."

"So I guess Ben was telling the truth. We are all dead men walking after all." I mutter to myself.

"Hey Lee. Katjaa grabbed this in the house. She said it was with your stuff." Carley hands him a video camera.

"Yeah," He says. "I found it when I was looking for the people who shot Mark." Wait. When did Mark get shot? Not that it's really important anymore, that is. Lee takes the camera and puts in his coat pocket. We look over to see Kenny holding his side in pain. He was shot less than an hour ago, and yet here he is, walking fine. Well, almost fine.

"He's a tough son of a bitch, I'll give him that." I remark.

"I'm gonna go talk to him" Lee walks off to join Kenny as Duck and Katjaa give the two men some space to talk.

"We pretty much killed that man." Carley says to me. She couldn't seriously be thinking-

"Carley. He shot Kenny and would've killed the rest of us. We had to do what we did. He deserved it." I look at her with a stern expression. "I told you when this shit started, my priority was to keep you safe. I'll kill anyone that tries to get in the way of that. Especially an asshole like Andy St. John."

She smiles lightly. "Yeah, I know you're right. I just wish it could be different. Everything. You know?"

"If you're asking me if I would rather be in the NFL or a zombie apocalypse, yeah, I think I'd take the NFL more often than not." I say semi-sarcastically, "But it's not. So this'll have to be what life is like for a while.

"Hey Dad, what's that noise?" I hear Duck call out in front of us. Just faintly, a ringing noise, but from what?

"Sounds like a car" Kenny looks in the direction of the car and starts walking towards it. I shrug and follow. About a minute later, we see it. A brown station wagon, fully lit up. Someone else was here.

"Hello?" Lee calls out to anyone who happens to be here. He slowly approaches the car, yet the area stays quiet. Finally reaching the car, he takes a quick look around. It's been abandoned. No gas, nothing.

I look over and see Kenny looking in the trunk. "Holy crap" he whispers. I see what he sees. Bags and bags of supplies. Food, batteries, clean water, even… oh God… a 30 rack of beer. Beer. Like alcohol. Man, we are lucky. There was at least a month's worth of food in here, maybe more.

"This food, it could save all of us!" Katjaa exclaims excitedly.

"Not all of us"Lilly says under her breath, still mourning the loss of her father. I see Kenny quickly look back at her for a moment before getting back to the food, which makes me wonder if something happened in the meat locker between these two.

"Look, we don't know if these people are dead" Ben says with a hint of concern in his voice.

"If they aren't dead and come back, then we're just monsters who ruin their lives." Lilly agrees with him.

"They're right. We'd be taking something of theirs to help us without considering them. In a way, we're no better than those sick fucks we just killed. But on the other hand, we need these supplies. And we don't know if these people are even alive." I'm morally conflicted. Again. I got to be more decisive sometimes.

"Well whose car is it?" Duck asks.

"Don't worry. It's ours now" Kenny tells his son. Well. I guess that decides it.

Kenny pops open the trunk and we get a full look at what we got. Bags of nonperishables, a box of Bud Light, several gallons of water, and so much more. Even antibiotics, much to Katjaa's delight.

Once we've sorted through everything, everyone takes boxes to carry back. We couldn't be more than ten minutes away or so. I grin as I pick up the box of Bud Light. Carley sees me with beer and rolls her eyes.

"Just like old times?"

"Just like old times."

She hands Lee a package of batteries. "I found these in the car. You can use these for your camera.

"Think you can handle batteries?" he grins and takes them.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" She says laughing a bit as I stand there confused.

"Oh shit" he inserts the batteries and starts the tape.

It starts with a view of our camp, from a higher position in the woods. I see the feed showing everyone doing their tasks to work on the area. This tape must be at least a month or so old. A woman's voice comes on as the camera dropped to the ground while recording.

"Jake, Bart, Linda, and all y'all fuckin' sickos from the Save-Lot! They call y'all bandits, but you're fuckin' rapist monsters!" The feed cuts away and the three of us look at each other confused.

"What the-" I stop myself as a second feed plays. Another one with the same view of the camp. This one is newer, maybe a few weeks old. The same female voice starts talking again.

"Oh darlin' baby look at you. Look. At. You. Oh you need a mama, sweetheart. We won't let the bandits get ya, will we sweetie?" I realize when this was. I stand corrected. This wasn't a few weeks old. This was yesterday?

"Y'all thinking you're safe, sittin' there, actin' like things are the way they used to be?" She flipped the camera around and we see who our stalker is for the first time. A middle-aged woman who looked just as bad as the rest of us. But who is she is the question.

"The dead don't kill their own. It's the living you gotta be afraid of. The people I used to call friends. The people who took…. Don't worry little girl. Bandits got their eyes on that dairy. As long as they keep getting food from them, you'll be safe. I promise."

I look at Carley, and then at Lee. The St. John's Dairy was no more, so what now?

 **Another short chapter, just finishing up episode 2. I'll upload the start of Episode 3 next Thursday. I think a chapter a week should work fine for this. It'll let me balance this, school, and everything else I've got going on in my life. Hopefully you guys have enjoyed this thus far.**


	10. Betrayal

Chapter 10: Betrayal

It's been about a week since the incident with the St. John's and we haven't had any trouble. We have plenty of food and supplies from the abandoned car, and the only big issue is that we have about 3 beers left.

We still haven't seen our stalker that was videotaping us. When I'm on watch, I try to see where she was taping us. I've found a small ridgeline just above the treeline that might've been the spot, but I'll need to go out and look for myself when I get a free moment to get a definitive answer.

Today is one of the days where I'm not on watch. Ben is stuck on watch today, Kenny and Lee are out on a supply run, and Carley is nowhere to be seen. Lilly has barely gotten out of her room all week, still mourning Larry's death, and Katjaa has taken on responsibility of watching the kids. Lee and Kenny have stepped up in Lilly's place as acting leader, but I'm still wondering what happened in that meat locker. I've asked Lee and Kenny but can't seem to get an answer out of either of them.

Somehow, tensions have gotten higher between us. Kenny and Lilly constantly go at it and it's a miracle neither of them have snapped at each other yet. This continues day in and day out, without fail. I'm not sure if this can last much longer. And frankly I don't know who's in the right at this point. I'll have to weigh my options with Carley.

Time passes by and the afternoon turns to dusk. Kenny and Lee soon come back with as much supplies as they could muster, mostly medicine, and the two of them walk into Lilly's room, likely to show her the supplies. Carley wraps herself around me in a hug.

"There you are. I was looking for you" I remark as she stands next to me.

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"What? I can't just want to see you?"

"Fair point." She kisses me as bickering soon erupts from Lilly's room.

"Do we?" I ask Carley.

"I think we have to." She says with a tone that says she does not want to do this either.

"You're right! You could see one of us sleeping and kill us!" Lilly snarls out at somebody. Was it Lee? Does she know about Lee's past. Or, did Lee kill Larry?

"At it again, are we?" My fiancee says, trying to lighten the mood.

"Can it, Carley." Kenny snaps at her. I open my mouth in protest but close it, not wanting to escalate this situation.

"Well can we cut the bickering at least? Shit it's hard to get anything done when you two are arguing." I shake my head, kicking myself for even getting involved.

"Well what're we going to do for food, for protection, our backup plan when this place falls and goes to shit." Kenny says to Lilly.

"How is this not working? We've been holding up fine."

"It's because of me, Lilly."

"No, it's because Lee knows how to take care of people." Lilly fires back at Kenny.

"I'm not doing this shit" I mutter to Carley. "I'm gonna go for a walk and clear my head. Be back in an hour." I look over towards that ridgeline and see something move for a split second, but I can't tell. Must just be the wind and the bushes.

I walk out of the camp minutes later and judging by the sound of things, it's only getting worse. I hear Lilly shout something about stealing and trust and stuff, but I've gotta block that mess out for a bit.

I find a small clearing on a hill in the woods. This is the spot. This was where the woman from the videotapes was recording us. Evidently, it seems like she was doing more than recording. She had a whole small camp up here. It was a miracle none of us ever spotted her. But there are more important questions. Like, where is she? Who is she? What does she want with us?

I look around her camp. She couldn't be in a group of more than two, maybe three. There just wasn't enough for more than that. My thoughts are interrupted by more movement deeper in the woods. Several men donning ski masks and bandanas slowly creep out, making their way towards me and the camp. It's them. The Bandits. I crouch to get out of view but keep looking to see what they do. They make their ways to the treeline, waiting and then signaling backwards, more people come out.

"Oh shit" I think to myself. "It's an attack." My hunch is correct. A group of six waltz right into the camp and start pointing their guns at my friends.

"Everyone down here!" One yells out, pointing the gun at Ben, "Get on the fuckng ground!" I see everyone that was outside immediately raise their hands in surrender and follow his orders. One by one, he lines them up and has people hold them hostage. I pull out my M4 and aim it, waiting to see what happens.

"You don't fuckin' steal from us! Y'all better get your asses out here! We ain't fucking around!" One of them aims a crossbow at my fiancee and I debate shooting him on the spot.

Lee walks out from Lilly's room, also raising his hands in surrender. I can see the two men try to negotiate, but it's hard to hear them. But, I keep my eyes on the one holding Carley hostage. One of them points a gun at Carley's temple. That's it. I squeeze the trigger and pink and crimson explode from his head and his lifeless body drops to the ground.

"What the fuck?" The head Bandit yells out. "Up there! Shoot that asshole!" He points right to me and gunfire erupts all around me.

"Aaaaaargh!" A sharp pain tears its way from my shoulder and I collapse to the ground, holding it. I'm shot. My warm blood is seeping from my wound as I'm met with four bandits holding me at gunpoint. They've got me. I raise my hands in surrender just praying that they won't kill me. Next thing I know, they're walking me over towards the others, and I'm put down next to Carley.

"Well, well, well, look at this asshole." I'm face to face with the leader. Or, well, face to mask technically. Regardless, I look up at him and say nothing, scowl on my face and teeth gritted.

"You got anything to say? Like maybe 'Sorry for killing one of your men' or 'Sorry for screwing us over'? Anything like that?"

"Go to hell" I mutter to him. I'm met with a quick kick to my ribs and I feel one of two crack. And another. And another. I see Lilly standing on a balcony, barely even visible, with a scoped rifle ready to fire. Take the fucking shot, Lilly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear that. What do you want to say?" He says, kicking me again and again. I turn to my side and cough up some blood and turn back to him.

"You don't scare me… thieving piece of shit"

He pauses for a moment to stare at me, and it feels like he's looking directly into my soul, like he can see my inside. "Well alright then." He pulls out a glocke and points it at my forehead, ready to execute me. "Last chance. I'll do it."

"Ian, just do it." Carley says through tears. My heart drops. This is the end of the line. I'm done.

"I'm…. I'm sorry, Carley. I love you." I close my eyes. "Do what you're gonna-" I'm cut off by a gunshot.

I open my eyes. I'm not dead. I look up to see the leader clutching his chest with a red stain expanding on his shirt. He drops to his knees, and falls over, his lifeless eyes staring back at mine. I feel everything freeze for a second. Evidently, none of the bandits knew what to do either, as they stand there, stunned. Kenny, Katjaa, and everyone else runs for cover as I see Carley reach for the glocke. She pulls the trigger twice, killing two of them. The two of us fall back behind the RV as more bandits pour in from the woods. Kenny comes out his room, holding two hunting rifles. He hands one to Lee and the other to me.

"Keep these assholes off me while I get this shit started up."

"You got it Ken."

And so we do. I take position behind an old couch and Lee stays behind the RV. Even with my hurt shoulder, I do my best to try to aim and kill them. I pop another one and we get a free moment.

"Keep your heads down and get in the RV!" I yell to Ben and Carley, who quickly dart over amid the gunfire and make it in. Lee moves over to the other side of the RV, where there were also bandits getting in. With them focusing on Lee, I try to make my move to the RV. Bad decision. An even sharper pain shoots up my body from my left ankle, and I look to see an absurd amount of blood pouring out of it. Shit.

"Ah Fuck!" I cry out in pain and hold my ankle. I'm hit. Again. Bullets fly by me as I crawl into the RV, and Carley cries out seeing me shot.

"Come on. Get up!" She helps me onto a seat as Katjaa and Duck follow me on.

"Is that everyone?" I ask, grunting slightly in pain.

"Not everyone. We're still waiting on Lilly" Lee says, signaling to her to get over here.

"Fuck her, we gotta go now!" Kenny yells out, getting closer to starting the RV. Finally, it comes alive.

"Lilly, last chance! Come on!" Lee yells out to her. As Kenny starts driving, Lilly leaps into the RV and closes the door as we hit the road. Everyone is on board now.

"Oh my goodness. Let me have a look at that" Katjaa points to the bullet wound in my leg. I look at it and it's still bleeding, albeit much less so than earlier. My shoulder hurts like hell, too, but I only got grazed and I think it's done bleeding.

"Well, there was an exit wound. So that's good. The bleeding is slowing down. I'll wrap it up but you'll need to stay off it as much as possible.

"We need to figure out how this happened." Lilly sternly says.

"What're you talking about?" I ask her.

"Someone stole supplies to give to those assholes. And now we've lost everything."

"Well, we're lucky as shit to have this RV!" Kenny rejoiced semi-sarcastically.

"And no one died." Carley says, looking at me.

"Well, I came pretty close." I shrug, smiling lightly but wincing as more pain shoots up my leg.

"Somebody caused this. Somebody was working with was doing this was slipping them our meds. They didn't get their last package, so they attacked." Lilly is starting to sound like a deranged conspiracy theorist. Who could be giving them supplies?

"Settle down! That's crazy talk." Kenny is having none of this, either.

"Lee found a bag of our supplies hidden outside the wall."

All eyes turn to Lee. "It's true."

Dead Silence.

Lilly turns to my fiancee and crosses her arms. "So, Carley, is there anything you want to say?" That bitch. Accusing my fiancee of stealing shit.

"It can't be Carley!" I tell her. "That's impossible. She's been with me most of the time."

"Shocker, the husband comes to his wife's rescue." Lilly rolls her eyes. "Come on, she is clearly a top suspect here."

Carley scoffs. "Please."

"Do we have to get it out of you, then?" She threatens my fiancee.

"Back off, Lilly" I warn her.

"Neither of you are in any position to make demands. For all we know it could've been both of you. Yeah, maybe that was it"

"You're wasting your time. It wasn't me and it wasn't her." I fire back.

"You're just pointing fingers at this point." Carley protests.

"Why her? It seems like you're stabbing in the dark right now." Lee asks of her.

"No, no, no I've had my suspicions. She's always so eager to see what we've got. She's never mentioned family, so maybe she's related to those guys."

"Don't be ridiculous. I knew her family well. They were the nicest fucking people. They'd never associate with those asshats." I say in defense of my would-be in-laws.

"Yeah, my family is not a bunch of meth-riddled forest people. They're fucking Lutheran!" That, I did not know. Guess you do learn something new every day.

"Hey can we just chill out?" Ben starts sweating nervously. I'm in no position to be pointing fingers, but maybe he has something to do with it.

"Maybe it was both of you. You guys have spent an awful lot of time together." Lilly accuses the timid teen.

"Look, just let me out. I didn't do it, but I don't like this. I don't like where it's headed." The kid is about to cry.

"Look me and the eyes and tell me it wasn't you" she continues to fiercely berate him. He isn't going to last much longer at this rate. Lilly is gonna make him crack, whether or not it was him.

"Shit!" Kenny swerves and we hear the 'Thunk' of the RV hitting something. We come to a complete halt. "I hit something!"

"Alright, we can deal with this now then." Lilly looks at Carley and Ben even more maliciously. "Everybody out. Now."

Everybody except Katjaa, Duck, and Clementine, steps out of the RV, myself gingerly walking on my non-injured foot. A quiet groan escapes from a pinned walker that Kenny had hit, forcing us here.

"Before we kick you out, let's hear what everybody thinks" Lilly turns to everybody.

"I'm not fucking doing this!" Carley yells at Lilly. "You can push Ben around but you can't push me around!"

"Yeah, now I'm starting to think it was the both of you."

"No!" Ben pleads.

"There's no way it could've been Carley. It had to have been someone else. It could've even eben someone sneaking into the camp" There's no secret who Lee sides with.

"Thank you, Lee."

"Kenny?" Lilly impatiently asks him as he works to get the walker out.

"I don't know! Fuck! Just stop, would ya?"

"Ben. You have until that walker is dealt with to tell me it was her and not you."

"Please! I'll do watches for a month, anything!" Ben starts crying. Yep. Lilly broke him.

"The Hell you will." She knows it.

"Get ahold of yourself man!" Lee says to him.

"Do we need anymore evidence than this?" Lilly looks ready to kill him.

"Fuck evidence! Stop treating him like this." my fiancee admirably steps up to defend him once again.

"Shut up Carley!" snaps Lilly. "I've heard enough out of you. Kenny?"

"Give me a damn minute! Jesus."

"Lilly, come on. This isn't solving anything. Let's get back on the RV and let this simmer down."

"Fuck that! Someone here is a backstabbing piece of shit and we are not leaving until we figure it out. I will take all night if that's what it takes."

"Lilly. Lay off. Like Ian said, this accomplishes nothing." Lee says sternly.

"No. We're finding out who did this, no matter what it takes." She snarls back at him.

"You think you're just some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you. But you're just a scared little girl. Get the fuck over it. Take a page from Lee, Ian, or literally anybody else in this group, and try helping somebody for once." My God, I have never seen someone angrier than Lilly. Her eyes literally screamed bloody murder, but her signature scowl indicates that this is not over.

It all feels like slow-motion from that point. Kenny finally unhinges the walker from under the car, and after a brief moment, he stomps on it, crushing its skull and destroying the brain. I see Lilly reach into her back pocket. No. She isn't.

My hand swats at her extended arm, and I hear the 'pop' of a gunshot ring out into the quiet night. Her gun clatters off into the grass, and my fiancee's body hits the ground.

"NO!" I cry out, rushing to her side. "CARLEY! KATJAA GET OUT HERE! FuckFuckFuckFuckFuckFuck. Katjaa! I need you out here now with any medical supplies you have!"

"I'm here, what happened? Oh my gosh. What happened?"

"Lilly fucking shot her!" I yell out. My chest pounds and my breathing lightens. "Fuck where's the wound? Oh fuck where's the wound?"

"I found it." Katjaa shines a light at a wound in her shoulder or chest area, I can't really tell because of her jacket, but blood is profusely spilling out of her.

"I'm going to get her back in the RV, see what I can do. I'll need some space."

"Thank you, Katjaa. If you need anything else just tell me." My stomach churns at the thought of me potentially losing my fiancee to anyone, much less Lilly.

"You're not coming with us." I hear Lee say to someone. I turn to see Lilly's dejected expression.

"But I'll die out here!" She pleads to Lee. Frankly I couldn't give a damn at this point what happens to her.

"I don't care" He says coldly and turns back to the RV. "Come on, Ian. We're going."

"Not yet. I've got unfinished business here."

"I understand. Try to make it fast."

"I'll only need a minute."

I pick up Lilly's gun and walk towards her.

"What, you're going to kill me? Cause I killed her?" She asks, crying.

"No. I'm not. Frankly, I don't think you're worth the bullet. So, I'm going to let you live out your life to see if it was worth it. Maybe you'll get lucky and make it. Maybe you won't. Doesn't matter to me. You've already taken everything that matters to me. Now go."

"Ian. I know I hurt you but you're still that same nice kid from high school. Please, don't do this."

"No."

"Ian! At least," she sniffs once "At least give me a gun. Give me a fighting chance out here." I almost want to tell her she's out of her damn mind. One one side, she could shoot us. On the other side, I can't just decide who lives and who doesn't. Everyone deserves a fighting chance.

"Fine, you want a weapon?" I eject the magazine and throw it deep into the woods, effectively gone forever. I then eject the round still in the chamber and kick it away. I toss the empty gun at her feet, and her shocked expression is priceless. I turn and walk back to the RV as I hear her ask me one last question.

"What was that for?"

"You said you wanted a weapon, you didn't say anything about bullets." I step into the RV and shut the door. "Let's go Kenny." The RV's engine roars as we take off into the night.

 **A rather eventful chapter, I'd say. This semester is looking to be more difficult than I assumed, so I'm going to try to keep this pace but don't be surprised if I miss a week or two because of schoolwork. Anyways hope you guy enjoyed.**


	11. Revelation

Chapter 11: Revelation

"How's she holding up?" I nervously look over at Katjaa, desperately trying to stitch up Carley's wound.

"She's holding up. It's a good thing Lilly shot her where she did. There could've been serious artery damage. I'm doing the best I can."

"She's a tough one. She'll pull through."

"I know, but I need some space to patch her up. Even though there's no artery damage Lilly still did a number on her. Please."

"Okay. Thank you. I'll give you some space."

"I would appreciate that, thank you." She says in a serious tone, not looking up from what she's doing.

I feel myself doze off at some point in the night. Maybe it was the medication I was on, maybe I'm just tired. Regardless, I wake up hours later, the sun barely cracking through the night as it rises. Someone's laying on me. It's Carley. Thank God. Katjaa did it. She really did. Carley really is gonna make it. She stirs lightly. She's waking up.

"Carley? How you feeling baby?" She looks up and her eyes are milky white. "No. No what the fuck?" She turned? But how? I desperately try to crawl away, but her arms latch onto my shoulders, and my eyes meet hers as she lowers her face slowly towards me. I yell out, hoping someone would hear. But nothing. Her mouth reaches my neck and she bites down hard. I try to scream out again but nothing comes out. I look up to see my trachea in her mouth, leaving me to choke on my own blood and die.

I jolt awake. My chest still pounding and my breathing still heavy. It was only a dream. Carley is still laying on me, thankfully still alive and human. I'm not bitten. Not bitten yet, at least. Everything is nice and peaceful. Not that has exactly meant good things in the past. I feel my momentum shifting as the RV decelerates.

I grunt as I slowly get up, pain still shooting up my leg from the bullet hole in my ankle when I try to move it a lot. But nonetheless, my ankle feels much better than it did last night. I look out the windshield to see what was stopping us. My jaw drops.

A massive train, maybe a freighter, stuck right in the way. Kenny steps out from his seat, and Lee and Ben join him outside. I hear Duck coughing outside, so Katjaa and him must've gone out, too. Leaving me, Carley, and Clementine, who was sitting down obediently, smiling.

"Do you need some help? Lee told me you hurt your leg." She asks politely.

"I think I'll be ok, but thank you." I head towards the door, only to have a worse jolt of pain in my ankle, causing my leg to buckle and I fall down hard.

"Are you ok?" She asks frantically, trying to help me up.

"Yeah, I'll live." I groan, favoring my ankle. "Can you help me get out?"

"Sure"

"Great. Thank you" I motion for her to get under my left arm and help me lift from there.

"You're heavy" She groans out, trying to help me walk. I chuckle in response to this.

"Well I'm an adult man sweetheart. We get pretty big. You should've seen my Dad. He was way bigger than I am." I smile and think about my Dad, the college football linebacker that had impressive physique. He stood at about 6'4", and weighed maybe 240 pounds. Just a complete beast. I always wondered how he never made it to the NFL.

"My daddy was big too. He had a big belly that Mommy always teased him about."

"Is that so?" I smile warmly as she helps set me down next to Katjaa and Duck.

"Hey Ian. How're you feeling?" Lee asks, glad to see me up and about.

"I'm not gonna lie, Lee. I've had better days. But my leg's feeling a bit better and it seems like Carley is holding up. So I guess it could be worse."

"Hey Lee. Wanna go take a look around?" Ben suggests.

"Yeah. Everyone relax. Clem, stay with Katjaa and Kenny for now, ok?" Clem nods and sits next to Katjaa.

"Oh Lee? If you happen to come across anything to drink, maybe if there's a dining cart or something, I think Duck is dehydrated." Katjaa says, still holding onto Duck, who looks sick, pale, coughing a lot. Maybe even a little blood. Scratch that. Definitely some blood. Gross.

"It's a freighter, hon." Kenny says, shaking his head.

"I'll keep my eye out." Good Guy Lee.

"Keep an eye out in there"

"What, you think there might be something dangerous inside an abandoned locomotive? Hadn't crossed my mind." Lee jokes as he walks towards the train, with a grin on his face.

Kenny snickers at this. "Jackass"

"Ian, here." Katjaa hands me a couple pills. Pain relievers. I down them quickly.

"Katjaa, you're a lifesaver." the two of us smile towards each other.

"It was my job, after all." she remarks.

"And you are damn good at it. Seriously. Thank you."

"Anything to keep this group alive."

"So, Duck's not feeling well?"

"No. He's coming down with something. I'm gonna keep an eye on him. Make sure everything stays good."

"Well hopefully he'll be alright. He's a good kid and I couldn't bear to see another young kid dead."

"Too right. But he's a tough kid. Like your fiancée. She pulled through that shit with Lilly. I thought for sure she was a goner." Kenny remarks. "But I'm glad she pulled through. For the both of you."

"I really appreciate that Kenny." I smile.

A loud 'hiss' noise comes from the train, making me jump a bit and startling the rest.

"God damn. It's working?" Kenny runs over to the front of the train.

"Huh. Well I guess we might not be stuck here after all." I remark.

"Maybe so." Katjaa agrees.

I get up with a loud grunt. "I'm gonna go check on Carley real quick."

I open the door to see my fiancee still dead asleep, but the light snoring indicates that she is, in fact, still alive. I place my hand on her shoulder, and almost like magic, her eyes open, and a beautiful smile forms on her face. Good God I want to break down in tears. She's ok. She really is.

"Well hello there Mr. Sullivan."

"Hello yourself Mrs. Sullivan." I kneel down and kiss her on the lips. I can never say I've felt bad kissing her, but this kiss feels better than the rest. More passion, more love, more happiness. Just better.

"So Lilly?" She looks around the empty RV.

"What about her?" I respond.

"Is she still here?"

"No. She's not. We won't have to worry about her anymore."

"Did you kill her?"

"No. I didn't. She was still walking last I saw her. Whether or not she's still alive is completely up to her and anyone she may have come across."

"Good. Honestly I feel safer already."

"Trust me. You're as safe as a woman with a gunshot wound in a zombie apocalypse could be."

"Glad to know I have nothing to worry about" she says in a sarcastic manner and rolls her eyes.

I chuckle at this. "Come on. You wanna go see the others? We're looking to get this train working I think." A loud noise from the train confirms what I just said.

"Sure. I could use some fresh air." I help her up and we slowly make our way out into the crisp midday of Northern Georgia.

"So how're you feeling?" I ask my fiancée, still clearly in great pain.

"It hurts like Hell. But other than that just peachy. How's your wound doing?"

"Hurts to walk but I'll live. It's a lot like when I tore my ACL Sophomore year. Except instead of worrying about getting drafted, I get to worry about outrunning walkers and getting eaten."

"That was pretty ugly" she recalls me tearing my ACL months after we started dating.

We reach Katjaa and find her talking with a raggedy, older man. White hair, clean shaven. Clothes are a mess.

"Hey there. I'm Chuck."

"Ian. This is my fiancée, Carley." I reach out to shake his hand.

"Your lady ok? She's not looking too hot."

"She was shot last night. She just woke up but I think she's holding up just fine. Just needs more rest, that's all." I explain to Chuck.

"I see. And what about the boy?" He nods to Duck, who is already looking worse.

"I don't really know. I guess he's coming down with something. That's my guess."

"Well nonetheless I like kids and I hate seeing anyone sick like that, especially kids. You guys want some candy?"

Clementine's eyes light up like a pinball machine. "Candy? I love candy!" Chuck smiles and hands her a piece of chocolate.

"I think we'll pass, thank you" Katjaa smiles appreciatively.

"I'd like some." Ben says, still seeming nervous about something. Chuck hands him a piece as well.

"What about you folks? You guys want some chocolate?"

"I've never seen Carley turn down chocolate ever. And frankly I could use some too. Sure." He tosses us two pieces and I hand one to Carley.

"Thank you so much." Carley unwraps it and put it in her mouth.

"You folks seem all right. You trying to get the train going?" Chuck asks, looking over at the locomotive.

"I guess so. Couldn't hurt to see what's going on elsewhere, granted I'm not sure if anywhere is any better." I shrug and chow down the chocolate.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up." He shakes his head slowly. "World has gone to shit." You can say that again.

"I see one of your friends going around back. I'm gonna go talk to him" Chuck must be talking about Lee. He walks off towards an open car and jumps in.

"He seems like an alright guy"

"Any guy that has chocolate in the zombie apocalypse is more than all right in my book" Carley jokes. I've never met a person who loves chocolate more than her. The two men come back minutes later, and Clementine perks up.

"You met Chuck!" she squeals excitedly.

"Yeah. I did." He smiles warmly and rubs her head, just like as though he was her father.

"It's nice to finally meet someone normal for a change" Katjaa says to Chuck, who started tuning an acoustic guitar.

I hear Duck's violent coughs and labored breathing. He's not doing well at all.

Kenny hops off the train and walks over to us. "We're all set. Gather what you have and let's get going."

I get up from my seat with a groan and help Carley up as well, and the two of us slowly hobble towards the box car. With a strained effort, we climb into it and find a corner to get comfortable. I find myself sitting against the wall with Carley laying down in my lap. Several minutes later, Katjaa and Duck join us, along with Lee and Clem. Another roar of the train engine indicates that we're ready to get rolling.

"You two should sleep. It'll help your wounds." Katjaa tells us.

"I was planning on it" I grin lightly to Katjaa. Truth be told, I could use some sleep. And if I'm gonna be sitting here for a few hours, it definitely couldn't hurt to get some shut-eye. I close my eyes and let the quiet rumbling of the train moving lull me to sleep slowly. A hand on my shoulder wakes me up an hour later. It's Lee. He doesn't look good.

"What's up?" I whisper to him, still waking up. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and look up at him.

"Chuck has some whiskey if you're thirsty."

"I don't know if Katjaa would want me getting up right now." I slowly scan the car, but Katjaa has disappeared. Duck too. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

He frowns. "I was hoping you'd get up so I could talk to you about that."

"Alright then." I slowly move Carley's head and stand up. He leads me outside the car and towards the front.

"Katjaa and Duck are dead." He says as we walk. "She couldn't take the pressure of… putting Duck down. Turned the gun on herself. Duck was bitten back at the motel, when the bandits attacked."

My eyes pop wide open. "Shit. Really? How's Kenny holding up?"

"Not good. Not good at all. I wouldn't talk to him when you pass by him."

I sigh and shake my head. "Fuckin' Hell. can't imagine what he's going through right now."

"Yeah."

We walk through the front cabin. I catch a glimpse of Kenny, who looks absolutely miserable. Can't say I blame him. Dear God let me die before Carley does. We walk outside to see Chuck working on the large bottle of alcohol.

"Hey kid. You like whiskey?" He smiles and hands me the bottle.

"Not my first choice but I'll never turn down a free drink" I smile back and take a sip. The warm liquid burns as it goes down my throat.

"Yeah I can tell. You probably drank that cheap beer and vodka that college kids were always downing." He's not wrong. That was pretty much all I drank during college. I take another sip and this time it goes down smoother. I hand it off to Lee, who also takes a swig.

"So what's the plan for you folks?" Chuck asks, staring off into the horizon.

"I'm thinking Savannah. We're gonna try and find a boat." Lee explains. Savannah? Guess I'm going home.

"And if that doesn't work out?" Chuck keeps staring off.

"We'll….. We'll….. Shit I don't know."

"You always gotta have a contingency plan. A backup plan."

"Uh. Alright. I'll keep that in mind." Lee nods.

I take one more swig of the alcohol and make my way back towards the boxcar. I pass by Ben, looking down with a guilty look on his face. "It was me." I hear him grumble.

"Hmm?" I turn towards him.

"I was the one giving Bandits supplies" he confesses.

"You… You what?" I step back up and glare at him. Oh God I want to kill this little shit.

"It's…. It's all my fault" He slowly backs away.

"Yeah, no shit. Why the fuck did you do that?"

"L-L-Look. I'm sorry. I-" I pull out my pistol.

"Carley fucking trusted you. I thought I could too. So why the hell did you do this, you dumb son of a bitch?" I roar out, pointing the gun in his face.

"They said they had my friend. They said he was with them. By the time I realized they didn't it was too late. They said they'd kill me and all of you. I'm sorry, Ian. I didn't mean to get Carley shot."

"I could kill you. Right now. Just throw you over the edge. You're not a big kid. I could throw you right over and no one would see it. Just a dumb little accident. But I'm not. I don't backstab other group members. Stay the fuck away from me and my fiancee from now on, got it?"

"I guess."

"And keep this shit to yourself. I don't think Kenny will be as forgiving. Frankly, I wouldn't blame him."

He sighs and puts his head down, not saying a word. I enter the boxcar and get back into my original position, and Carley wakes up.

"Hey"

"Hi"

"You ok?"

"Not really"

"What happened"

"Ben did it"

"Ben did what?"

I stare into her eyes until she gets it.

"Oh my gosh. You mean-?"

"Yeah. Exactly."

"And I defended him. Jesus."

"You did what you thought was right. Can't blame you for that. I just wish you didn't have to get shot over this."

"Yeah that wasn't fun either. Where's Katjaa and Duck?" My heart drops. She was asleep when they were… put down.

"Dead. Katjaa took her own life and Duck was bitten." I tell her solemnly. Her face turns white and her eyes shoot open, welling tears.

"Oh no. No. How? Fuck." She sniffs and wipes her tears.

"He got bit in the bandit attack. Katjaa went to put him down, but she couldn't handle it. It's completely fucked."

"What about Kenny?"

"Emotional wreck. Not that I blame him, but we gotta give him space."

"Good call."

I sigh. "Yeah."

"So where are we going?"

"It's looking like Savannah" I smile to her. "Going home."

"OH SHIT! HOLD ON EVERYBODY!" We hear Kenny's voice over the intercom. The train screeches to a halt.

"What the fuck?" I get up and look at what's going on outside.

A giant oil tanker, dangling from the overpass, is the obstacle. No plowing through that.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Kenny yells out, frustrated.

"Maybe we can walk?" Shut up, Ben.

"That's fucking stupid, Ben." Kenny says to the teenager. I snicker silently.

"Maybe we can plow right through it?" Chuck suggests.

"That thing's not full of milk, Charles. That's gas or diesel. Something that's going to explode." Kenny explains.

"Yo! If you keep screaming like that, you're gonna get your face chewed off!" A voice calls out from the overpass. We look up to see two people, a man and woman maybe a couple years older than Carley and myself.

"Are you guys trouble? Cause we could've just kept walking." The woman says to us.

"No. We're friendly." Lee says back to them.

"That's what everybody says." She replies, crossing her arms.

"Trust me, we know." I frown. "But we're cool. We won't shoot at you guys if that's what you're asking."

"That's a relief" She says sarcastically.

"You guys got a problem with your train?" The guy asks, apparently oblivious to the several-ton oil tanker right in front of him.

"Uh yeah. That'd be it right in front of you." Kenny points to it.

"It's a wreck. Send your buddy up here to check it out." He points to me.

"Probably not a good idea. I got shot in the ankle yesterday. Lee?" I turn to him, and he heads towards the ladder. Kenny stops him for a moment and whispers something in his ear before sending him on his way and up a ladder to the overpass. He comes back minutes later, the man and woman following him.

"Guys, this is Omid and Christa." he nods to the couple.

"We just wanted to say 'hi' and that your train is cool." Omid grins. While he might not be the smartest, this Omid guy seems like the most positive.

"But we're not looking for charity" Christa says coldly. I take it she doesn't really trust us.

"We're gonna try to cut that tank down and then get back on our way." Lee explains to the rest of us.

"Sounds like a plan to me" Kenny says somberly. God I feel bad for him.

"So let's get going on cutting down that tank" Omid says positively.

"I'm gonna talk with the girl, if you don't mind." Christa looks over at Clementine, who's sitting on a log, humming to herself. She soon joins her, and the two girls start chatting.

"Hey Omid. Why don't I teach you how the train works. In case something happens. Just to be safe." Kenny looks over to the middle eastern man.

"Uh sure. Ok."

"Someone might want to go have a look over inside that station over there." Kenny points over to a small shack on the other side of the overpass as he and Omid get onto the train. Lee walks over towards the station, and Clementine runs over to him. Christa tries to go after her but I stop her.

"Trust me. If there's one thing I can say about Lee, it's that he won't let a thing touch her. She's safe with him." I assure her.

"I hope you're right." She sighs. "I just don't want to see any more kids getting killed in this mess, you know?"

"All too well." I shudder and think about that girl in the hotel with her guts splattered all over the floor.

"I don't think I caught your name earlier."

"Ian. Ian Sullivan." I stick out my hand.

"Christa." She shakes it. "That's my boyfriend, Omid."

"My fiancee, Carley, is resting in the boxcar. We've had a bit of a day."

"Do tell."

"Our group got attacked yesterday and she got shot." I lift up my pant leg slightly to reveal my bandaged wound to her, too. "I got hit, too. But not as badly."

"Oh Jesus." she averts her eyes. "That looks painful."

"You've got no idea" I chuckle.

"So did you say you're engaged? You're pretty young, aren't you?"

"21. But I had some fortunate circumstances, so I asked the question. Carley and I had been dating for a year and a half, almost 2 years. I don't regret a thing."

"What were these fortunate circumstances?" She looks at me, intrigued.

"I got drafted into the NFL back in April. Signed a pretty nice deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Unfortunately I never got to play, of course. But still, how many people can say they got drafted into the NFL?"

"Good point, I suppose. I'd still be pissed." She remarks.

"Eh. I'm just happy to be alive and safe with Carley. She's all I have left."

"Well you've got the group."

"Yeah… I suppose so. I guess I meant familywise. My parents and brother died the night this started and I haven't seen my little sister since maybe May, so she could still be out there, but it'd be a long shot."

"Well I hope you find her."

"I appreciate that."

Lee returns maybe 15 minutes later, with a blowtorch in hand. How he found a blowtorch, I will never understand. Nonetheless, I'm not one to complain.

"Where the hell did you get that?" I call out to Lee, lugging the equipment towards the ladder.

"It was just there, in the station" He shrugs and grins.

"What're the fuckin' odds?"

"Hey, I ain't complaining" He starts making his way up the ladder, Omid following him. I guess Kenny taught him everything.

As Lee and Omid work on cutting, I hear Ben's voice calling out to us. "Guys? There's something coming!"

"Oh Jesus…" comes out of my mouth as I see what Ben sees. Hundreds. Maybe even thousands of walkers. Slowly making their way towards us.

"Kenny! We gotta go! Now!" Ben yells out to Kenny.

"Go go go!" the rest of us run over to the train as Kenny starts it up. A loud creaking noise pierces the commotion as the tanker falls down, crashing and the gasoline pours out onto the ground.

As the train passes through the underpass, I look outside to see Lee and Omid sitting to the edge. "Jump for it!" I yell out to them. Two thumps on the roof indicate to me that they made it, but I hear Omid's pained cries from the side.

"Omid!" Christa jumps off the train to get her boyfriend. She picks him up, and the couple frantically runs from the evernearing horde. Even with the busted leg, Omid is able to limp/run and catch up to us, reaching his hand out for us. I grab it and drag him in. Lee does the same for Christa.

"Thanks… for that" Omid says in between breaths.

"Don't mention it" I pat his shoulder and sit down next to Carley, who was starting to wake up.

"Who's this?" She asks quietly.

"This is Christa and Omid. They're joining us now." I tell her.

"Is this your fiancee?" Christa smiles to Carley.

"Sure is. This is Carley." The two women exchange smiles.

"So what's going on? I heard a lot of commotion?" My fiancee asks as she rubs the sleep out of her eyes.

"Babe, I'll tell you all about it later. But we're safe now. We're on to Savannah." I chuckle. Time to go home.

 **Well as if on cue, the week after I say I might miss a week ends up being one of the busiest ones for me yet. Idk how many more weeks will be like that but I'll try to keep a chapter a week.**


	12. Homecoming

Chapter 12: Homecoming

"Next stop, Savannah, folks!" Kenny says over the intercom, sounding a lot more positive.

"Almost home." I whisper to myself.

Minutes later, the train screeches to a halt. We're here. Savannah, Georgia. Home. Last I remembered Savannah, it was a war zone, bodies scattered around the city. This isn't much better, but it's at least quiet.

We walk for several blocks through suburban Savannah, but as we keep walking, Omid's leg starts to do worse. I'm guessing that fall from the overpass did a real number on him, and having to sprint to catch up to the train couldn't have helped, either. Omid's leg finally gives way and he collapses.

"I'm ok, I'm ok" He mutters as his girlfriend helps him up.

"He needs to rest." She says to Lee, seeming pretty angry.

"Kenny, how much farther to the riverfront?" Lee asks in response to Christa.

"A couple blocks, tops. He can rest while we ge a boat." Kenny assures Lee and Christa.

"And you're positive there'll be a boat?"

"There sure as Hell better be."

In the distance, a bell rings. Probably from the church not too far away. Regardless of where it is, that'll attract a lot of walkers. We won't be safe here.

"What the hell?" Someone asks.

"I'm guessing this city isn't so dead after all" Christa looks around.

"Come on. Let's keep moving. That bell is automatic. On a timer." Kenny impatiently keeps moving.

I check my watch, which was still working. It reads 4:23. "Kenny. It's 4:23. Someone is ringing that bell." I raise the hunting rifle and look through the scope to try to get a view of someone ringing the bell. Nothing. Wait. Something. A figure, clad in a red windbreaker, running along the rooftops and suddenly disappears from view.

"I saw him. Smaller guy. Wearing a red jacket. I think that's our bell ringer." I keep looking through the scope, trying to see if I see him.

"If I were you, I'd get out of the street. Now." A voice says. We all look around to see that it's coming from Clementine's walkie-talkie.

"I thought you said that thing didn't work." Christa looks angrily at Lee.

"I didn't think it did." He picks it up and answers our stalker. "Who is this? Is that you up in the Bell Tower?"

"What the fuck's going on? Is someone trying to fuck with us?" Omid asks.

"Sounds more like a warning." Ben crosses his arms and looks up towards the tower.

"Ask not for whom the bell tolls…" Chuck whispers and looks down the street.

"We got company" I ready my M4. There they were. Maybe two dozen walkers, all with their eyes set on us.

"Everybody! Run!" Lee takes off, Clementine by his side, and we all follow. I cover the backside, shooting rounds at the big group that pursues us.

"Ahh shit" I hear Kenny yell out as he trips and a walker grabs him. I turn towards him and pop the walker before he can bite him.

"You good?" I offer my hand.

He takes it. "Damn right. Let's keep going."

Clementine's the next one in trouble. I hear her screams as walker surround her and Ben.

"Ben! Help her!" Lee tells the teen. But he doesn't. He sees an opening and darts away, leaving the 8 year old in a crowd of walkers. This fucking kid.

"God damn it. Fucking idiot." I aim my rifle and start popping heads as Lee and I drop most of the remaining walkers around Clementine. As one approaches her from the back, it drops with a thud, and Chuck impales it with his shovel.

"Get her out of here. I'll catch up." Chuck yells to Lee as he kills the walker. Lee nods in confirmation. We keep running. River Street is two blocks away. More walkers make their way in front of us. Another obstacle for us.

"This way!" I point to a house with a gate slightly open. The 8 of us rush into the house and close the gate. We're safe for now, albeit we don't know how long this gate can hold.

"Everyone ok?" Lee asks all of us as we take a minute to catch our breaths.

"Yeah I'm fine." Omid responds, clearly in great pain.

"Omid, you opened up your wound. You're bleeding." Christa kneels down and examines Omid's leg. "This is going to get infected. We need to get inside. Now." Kenny continues trying to open the back door, but to no avail.

"I gotta give these guys credit. They've locked up this place good. I can't see a way in."

"Hey" Ben points out. "There's a doggy door. Maybe one of us could try to crawl in through there. If we can fit." He points to the smaller door on the bottom of the door.

"That's actually a good idea Ben." Kenny tries pushing on the door, once again to no avail. It won't budge. "Of course. It's electronic. Activated by the dog's collar."

"Well… where's the dog?" Ben asks.

"We might not have to look far" I look over in the back corner of the yard. A mound of dirt with a cross on top of it. A dog bowl with the words "Good Boy" written on it sits right next to the cross. I think the dog is there.

"Oh Jesus. You can't mean… Oh God" I hear Carley retch into the bushes.

"Yeah. I think that's what I mean." I start looking around for a shovel. Lee beats me to it and grabs it from next to a large shed. Without saying a word, he walks over and starts digging. My stomach churns and I almost want to vomit myself.

"Hey be careful man. Digging up dead things isn't exactly what it used to be." Omid jokes. I hate myself for laughing at that, yet I snicker after his wisecrack, causing him to grin.

Lee digs more and more, finally uncovering something, and our noses are hit with the pungent odor of death. It's the dog, or what's left of it. Sure enough, it has the collar on, chip and everything. Lee grabs the collar, and the dog's head slides clean off, like a knife through butter. Yep. I'm gonna- I even interrupt my thoughts as I vomit all over the ground.

"Fuck me, that smells" I remark, spitting on the ground in an effort to get the taste of my own stomach acid out of my mouth.

Lee puts the chip up to the door. Hopefully this works. A green light and a light 'click' noise indicates that we're good to go. It's unlocked. Now who could fit through here?

Of course, Clem, being the smallest, drops down and volunteers herself to go through, easily fitting inside.

"Oh shit!" Lee whispers, not trying to attract any walkers our way. "Clem? Do you see anything?"

The lock clicks and she waltzes back outside. "Ta-da" I smile and shake my head. This kid.

"Good job, Clem! Just be careful next time, ok?" Lee praises her.

"Ok" she continues to smile.

Kenny takes a few steps inside to inspect. "Looks good. Everybody in."

We walk into a spacious living room. Really fancy. Also really quiet. Aside from Omid's noises from the pain, the house is completely silent. Christa sets him down on a sofa, giving him some space to lie down. I do the same with Carley, softly setting her down in a recliner.

"How're you feeling?"

"A lot better" She smiles softly.

"Good. Good. You relax here for a bit while we figure out the gameplan."

"Sounds good."

Lee, Kenny, and Christa stand in the foyer, apparently discussing what our course of action will be.

"I think we could all use some time to rest up and gather our thoughts. At least until those walkers outside wander off and Omid's feeling better." Lee looks towards Kenny.

"Well he better feel better soon. I ain't gonna wait around here too long." Kenny reluctantly concedes to Lee's plan. Looks like we're staying put.

"It looks like this floor's clear" Ben chimes in as he walks in from the kitchen and joins us.

"I'll feel more comfortable when the whole house is safe. All of it." Christa sighs.

Kenny sighs in response to this. "Alright. Fine. Ben and I will check upstairs. Lee, Ian, you guys got down here. Check every door. Understand?"

"Ok" Lee says. I nod as well.

Even with the 8 of us in the house, it still feels empty. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the mass amounts of dead outside. Maybe it's the thought of what likely happened to the people that lived here. I don't know. And frankly, I'm not sure I want to find out.

The house is clear. At least the first floor is. I haven't heard anything come from upstairs to indicate otherwise, but making assumptions isn't exactly a safe thing to do, given the circumstances. I sit down on a small coffee table, just across from Carley, as we hear Ben's voice call out from upstairs.

"Lee? Lee you gotta come up here." The teen tells my former professor. He runs upstairs to see what the commotion is. I slowly follow him upstairs, and slowly climb a small ladder protruding from the ceiling. I see them, Lee and Kenny, both standing there. Looking at something.

I hear it. Light, raspy moaning. It's a walker. Holy shit. It's a kid. A kid that turned. He slowly and feebly tries to walk towards us, but he is literally all skin and bones. His legs snap under himself, and he falls to the floor, desperately grabbing towards us.

"Kinda looks like Duck, don't he?" Kenny mutters to us, keeping his gaze on the boy, or what's left of him.

"It's just a kid… What the Hell happened to him?" Lee whispers.

"Kid's all skin and bones. Must've been hiding up here and just… starved. Jesus Christ..." A shiver goes down my spine. The kid couldn't have been older than 8 or 9, around Clementine's age.

"I don't know if I can put him down, Lee. I couldn't do it before, can't do it now." Kenny confesses. Poor guy.

"I can't ask you to do this, man. I'll handle it."

Lee slowly walks towards the walker, pulls out his glocke, and slowly takes a breath in hesitation.

"I'm sorry" He whispers as he pulls the trigger. The walker lets out a final groan as it collapses to the ground, dead.

The silence is deafening.

"We should bury him." Lenny suggests.

"I'll handle it." Lee offers as he picks up the walker and walks out of the attic. I motion for Kenny to follow.

"Come on Kenny"

"Yeah…."

As we walk into the living room, Carley notices our expressions almost immediately.

"What happened? I heard a gunshot."

"Walker." Kenny gruffly replies. "We dealt with it. It's dead."

"Ok then. Everything's good."

"About as good as it can be, babe. The house is safe for now." This gets a smile out of Christa and Omid, especially Christa.

"Excellent. Thank you for doing that." she says to me.

"So what was Lee doing with that corpse? Seems kinda weird to be carrying one of those around like that." Omid remarks.

"Lee's giving him a proper burial, per Kenny's wishes" I explain to Omid. "Kenny saw him and it reminded him of his kid, who died a few hours before we met you guys. That's why he's been the way he has."

"Ah gotcha. Damn that's rough." This is the first time I've seen the normally upbeat Arab man with a negative expression. All attention shifts to outside as we hear Lee's voice yelling something at somebody. Everyone who is able to rushes outside except myself and Carley, as we stare at each other in confusion, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

Everyone walks back inside minutes later. I have so many questions.

"So what's going on?"

"Kenny and I are going to go down to the river and try to find a boat. Everyone else hold tight for a bit." Lee says as he and Kenny grab their equipment and leave through the back door.

As we hear the door close behind them, everyone stares at each other. Not a word to be said.

Minutes pass by before I finally break the silence. "Ok let's be honest. Kenny's plan isn't going to work, right? I doubt anyone would leave a boat in the river, especially now that we're, what, 4 months into this shit? Come on."

"I think you're right." Christa agrees. "It would all be too convenient. Like you said, no chance there's a perfectly good boat lying around. None." I nod in agreement.

"Well let's look and see. Maybe we'll get lucky." Carley says optimistically.

"Maybe so. I just can't see it happening. It's been 4 months. I just don't think Kenny thought this one through." I shrug and sit down in a chair, leaving me to my thoughts as everyone went about their things.

So, what happens if Kenny finds a boat? What happens if Kenny doesn't find a boat? Do we have a backup plan? What happens if Kenny and Lee don't come back? What happens if we can't fit 8 people on this boat? What if Kenny finds out about Ben? What of the guy that's ringing the bell? What's his deal?

Fuck me. Too many questions.

 **Wow. This chapter was a btch to write for some reason. I don't know. I'm almost 100% sure my girlfriend has given me the flu so idk how productive I'll be with this for the next week or so. Hope you guys enjoyed.**


	13. Nightfall

Chapter 13 - Nightfall

 **2 HOURS LATER**

The door slams shut and I hear footsteps downstairs. Kenny and Lee must be back. Good. In the two hours they were gone, Christa and I decided that it'd be a good idea to get Omid and Carley upstairs so they can rest while Kenny and Lee were gone and, if it comes to it, they can rest if we decide to stay here long-term.

I walk downstairs to find that the footsteps I heard did not belong to Kenny and Lee, rather, at least the both of them. Rather I see Kenny standing in the foyer with a tall blonde woman, wearing a red windbreaker. Wait a minute. Red windbreaker. That looks familiar.

"Where's Lee?" I ask Kenny.

"He got split up from the rest of us, hopefully he'll be here soon." He replies without .

"Well shit is everything alright?"

"Just fine. A few walkers got to us and we got split up. Lee was forced to go a different way. Last I saw him he was good."

"Alright alright. Well who's this?" I nod at the woman.

"Oh, right. This is Molly. She was the one that was ringing the bells all over the city." She shrugs her shoulders.

"Yeah sorry about that. Wasn't trying to get you guys killed. I was just trying to distract the geeks so I could scavenge a bit."

"Geeks? That's what you call them?" I grin at the weird nickname.

"Yeah it's kinda a weird backstory and kinda irrelevant. I won't bore you with the details."

"So what's the deal with Omid? Clem said he wasn't doing so hot." Wait. When did Clementine get out of the house? For fuck's sake. She could've been killed. But clearly she's alive and well. So I guess it's fine.

"Uh yeah. Omid wasn't doing too hot so Christa moved him upstairs to sleep. Christa's keeping an eye on him, so I don't think we should have many issues." I explain to Kenny.

"Sounds good."

"So what's the situation with the boat? Are we in business?"

"No"

"Oh"

"Yeah"

Another long silence follows. Not as bad as the walker's, but still.

"Well, I'm gonna go check up on Omid, make sure he's holding up." I start walking upstairs.

"Hey Ian?" I hear Kenny call to me while I'm within earshot.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks"

"For what?" I ask him. But no response. Weird.

Omid's coughs get harder and worse. He's not doing well. Christa's been saying stuff about an infection, but I'm no doctor. I don't know how to help him. Maybe we'll have to see if he pulls through. I think our hopes of having a regular doctor died with Katjaa.

Some time passes and I finally hear the front door open and Lee's voice calling for Clementine. Thank God he's safe. The bedroom door creaks open and Lee steps into the room. Like Kenny, he isn't alone either. An older man, with a thick white beard and fading white hair follows him.

"Glad to see you're ok. Who's the old guy?" I ask before realizing how I said that. I mentally kick myself for asking like that. It's been a long day.

"This is Vernon. He's a doctor. He's gonna take a look at Omid. Make sure he's ok." He turns to Christa, whose face lights up like a pinball machine.

"Omid, honey. You hear that? You're gonna be alright." Christa says to her unresponsive boyfriend.

"Alright let's take a look at him" Vernon sits down next to Omid to tend to him. "I work better without an audience. I'm sure you have other things to tend to of your own." That's probably a good idea. I step out of the room and down the hall to the moderately-sized guest room. A small smile forms on my face as I see my fiancee sleeping soundly in bed.

Moments later, a knock on the guest room door. It's Lee.

"What's up?"

"Do you know Crawford?"

'No, what's that?"

"It's a community here in Savannah. We're going to sneak in and get supplies. I figured you might know the area by some chance. You and Clem are the only ones here from Savannah, and I doubt she has much of a clue about the area."

"Can't say I do. But what's going on?"

"Kenny found a boat. Turns out it was there in the backyard shed. We just need to get a few things for it. If we can do that, we're good."

"So we got a boat? Wow. What're the odds? So, what's the plan?"

"Vernon knows the underground sewage system and how to get into Crawford. The plan is to get in there, get what we need, and get out."

"I would imagine this Crawford place is heavily defended."

"That's why we'll need as many hands as we can."

I sigh. "Who do we have to watch Omid and Carley? We can't just leave them, can we?"

"Look Ian I-"

"Lee. I'm not leaving Carley alone. I know this is a big operation but I'm not letting Carley stay by herself with the only other person being Omid, God knows how he'll hold up. If a walker gets in here or someone else does and she gets hurt or killed because I went to Crawford, I don't know if I could live with myself. If one of us stays here, then we can make sure that they're safe."

"I understand. And you have a good point. It'll be your call. We leave in a few hours. I'll need you to make the decision by then."

"I'll let you know."

He nods quietly and walks out of the room. Fuck. Fuuuuuuuuuck. I know that this is important. And I know that this Crawford mission could save this group. But I can't risk Carley. I… I can't. That's a risk I can't take.

 **11:37 PM**

The rest of the group meets outside. It's time for them to head to Crawford. I haven't told Lee my decision to stay, but I'm sure he'd rather I come with. Fuck it. I gotta tell him. I open the door and walk out into the pitch darkness. I find Lee mid-conversation with Kenny, yet he still turns to me.

"Well?"

"Lee, I'm sorry. I can't leave her behind. I thought about it for hours, didn't ever leave my mind. I couldn't live with myself if I risked her life and lost her like that. I'm sorry."

He sighs. "It's alright. I understand. Keep them safe."

"He's not coming with us? Why not?" I hear Kenny's voice from behind Lee.

"He's got his reasons, Ken. We'll be alright"

Kenny is silent for a moment, before he leans in towards me. "Keep her safe, kid. Don't end up like me." It's as though he's reading my mind.

"You got it Kenny. Godspeed." We shake hands, maybe for the last time, and I walk back inside to the house. I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Christa. In the pale moonlight, she pulls me into a hug.

"Keep an eye on Omid. Thank you." She says through slightly teary eyes.

"Of course, Christa. Good luck out there." We hug one last time, and the group goes on their way. Off to Crawford.

I take my post in the guest room, which has a wide window overlooking the city in front of the house, giving me a good view of anything or anyone that may come in through the front door. In the moonlight, I see some slow movement from a dark figure. Looks like a walker, maybe. Regardless, I let it keep walking because it isn't threatening me right now. Hopefully that's not a mistake.

My body jolts awake as I hear pounding downstairs. I rub sleep out of my eyes as I must have nodded off to sleep while on watch. A slow knocking noise comes from down below during the otherwise silent night. The sound of glass shattering gets me up from my seat and into the hallway. Is it a walker? Someone breaking in? I check my watch, 3:48 AM. Lee and the group are probably in a gunfight with Crawford as I walk towards the hallway.

I slowly step out of the room, the loud creaking of the floor and my intruder breaking in are the only two noises I can hear. I reach the stairs, and there he is. A walker, broke through the glass of one of the downstairs windows. He tries climbing through, I can sorta see the broken glass tear at his skin and blood and innards spill out onto the floor. Gross. Really fucking gross. I slowly walk down the stairs, readying my glocke in case he gets too close. He finally breaks through, or rather, part of him does. The top half of his body rips through, and his lower half hangs in the window, as his upper half crawls towards me. Should I shoot or stomp? Eh fuck it. I want to sleep and not get more muck on my boots. I shoot a single shot into the walker- er, crawler's head. He drops dead, and I walk back into the guest room, where Carley starts stirring awake.

'What happened? I heard a gunshot. Is everything ok?"

'Everything's fine sweetheart. A walker got in and I took care of him."

"Oh well ok. What time is it?"

"Almost 4 AM. Lee and everyone else should be back soon."

"Huh? What do you mean? Where did they go?"

"Oh right. You were asleep. Well, they went to this community called Crawford. It's here in Savannah. They're getting some supplies for a boat that Kenny found. They left a few hours ago, but I volunteered to stay back to watch you and Omid. Make sure you guys are good."

"You should've gone with them."

"What why?"

"Because. It's not fair to them. They could need your help. You're one of the stronger ones here. And fastest. That's important."

"Fuck, Carley. You're right. I could've been a help. But I needed to make sure you were ok. I'm not taking any chances. Especially with my fiancee potentially at risk."

"I know what you're saying. So thank you. I just hope that everything goes well with Lee and everyone else."

"Let's hope."

"You wanna cuddle for a bit? We haven't done that in a bit."

"Sure sweetheart." I crawl into bed with her and snuggle next to her. Within minutes, I'm out cold for the night. It's nice to finally fall asleep with my fiancee in something other than the damn motor inn.


	14. The Bite

Chapter 14 - The Bite

 **THAT MORNING**

I feel a hand on my shoulder shaking me lightly, and I slowly wake up to a bright morning sun and Lee's smiling face. Good. He's back alive.

"Glad to see you're back in one piece."

"Glad to see you three are all in one piece. I saw a walker got in."

"Part of him at least." I grin. "How was Crawford? Everyone back alright?"

"Crawford was dead, man. Walkers overran them. But we have the supplies we need. And no one got hurt. We almost lost Ben, but he made it." I frown slightly, and Lee knows exactly why.

"Yeah, I know. Kenny does too. And he was a whole lot less forgiving than you were." Just as I would expect.

"Can't say I blame him. But that's not important right now. How's Omid doing? Did Vernon fix him up?"

"Omid's doing good. He pulled through. But Vernon just told me he wants to take Clementine. Can you believe that? You gotta be fucking kidding me."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him I'll think about it. But he'll have to pry her from my cold, dead hands if he wants her.'

"Good. If there's anyone I trust with her, it'd be you. Shame Vernon doesn't see it that way."

"That's what I've been saying. Speaking of, I should probably check on her." Lee starts walking for the door, but I have one last thing to ask him.

"What happened at the St. John's?"

"Hmm?"

"The St. John's. With Larry. I can't stop thinking about how I left Lilly for dead because of Ben's mistake, but she was a whole other person after he died. What happened to Larry?"

"He had a heart attack in the meat locker. After his heart stopped we…. we were debating what to do. Lilly tried to bring him back, but he was too far gone. Kenny and I we…. we

did what we had to do, threw a salt lick on his head so he wouldn't come back." I can't believe what I'm hearing.

"Oh Jesus" I turn to see Carley's horrified expression. I'm with her. I hated Larry but thinking about dropping a salt lick on someone, ugh. That's just messy. I don't blame Lilly for resenting him and Kenny a bit.

"You guys know I'm not a bloodthirsty killer. I'm just doing what I have to do to survive. It's a crazy, fucked up world out there and we were in a meat locker with no space at all with a man built like an offensive tackle that was about to eat us. If we don't do that, we die. I can't regret those things. Especially cause Clem was in there. You guys would've-"

"Done the same. You're right. I would've. Especially if Carley was in there. I get it." I finish what he was saying.

"Yeah…. Well I'm gonna go find Clementine. I need to talk to her about some things. I'll talk to you guys later. He walks out of the room, down the hall and into the main study as he looks for Clem. I turn back to Carley, she gives me an uneasy look.

"Can you believe that happened? I mean, I know Lee's killed in the past but this… I don't know. This just makes me feel uneasy for some reason. Maybe it's the manner he did it, maybe it's just that I had grown desensitized to the whole thing. I don't know." She shrugs lightly.

"Well he has a point. I would've done the same under those circumstances. It's just one of those things that you have to do."

She frowns. "I know Lilly was mad, but imagine if Larry wasn't dead. Imagine if Lee and Kenny had actually killed him and he wasn't dead. Fuck I can't imagine what she went through."

"Well it happened. Not much we can do now. Just think that if he hadn't, we wouldn't be here right now. It was the right decision." Her expression changes slightly which shows she at least understands where I'm coming from, nodding slightly as I kiss her on the cheek. I roll out of bed and walk out of the bedroom to see Christa walking out of the master bedroom.

"How's he doing?"

"He's holding up ad resting right now. Thank God for Vernon. It looks like Omid is going to pull through. How's Carley?"

"She's doing good. I think some more rest is all she needs."

"I'm glad to hear that. Thank you for staying back and watching them. I saw that walker got in and if godforbid Omid or Carley got bit, I'm not sure I could live with myself."

"I was feeling the same way. That's why I did it. I would've came along to Crawford, but it looks like you guys were able to handle it, yeah?"

"Yeah, it was completely dead. Aside from the hundreds of walkers in there, but still. I was just surprised about Ben. He really betrayed you guys, and yet you let him stay. I can't see anyone being so forgiving nowadays."

"Well you only know half of it. Yeah, he got Kenny's wife and kid killed, but this woman who led our group, she was paranoid about it. She thought it was Carley and she was the one that shot her during an argument. I left her for dead after that. That might've been why I decided to keep Ben. I just wanted to keep the group alive cause whether I like it or not, he is a member of the group. Even if he is a backstabbing piece of shit."

"Well still, if I lost Omid under those circumstances, and found out it was the kid's fault. I would've killed him. I'm sure you at least thought about it. But that shows restraint and maturity. That could pay off in the future. Not a lot of people are like that anymore." I blush from Christa's compliment.

"That's very kind of you Christa, I just hope it doesn't have come to that. At least, not again."

"Yeah. I know. No one wants that to happen, it's just that-" She's cut off by the opening of the study's doors and Lee walking out with a panicked expression on his face.

"Have you guys seen Clementine?" He asks the two of us. We shake our heads in response. I haven't seen Clem in a while. What was it, last night? Shit maybe. "Damn it. Fuck. I can't find her." He curses as he runs downstairs. I hear the back door slam as he calls her name out several times. Where the hell is she?

My fiancee walks out slowly, confused. "What's going on? Did Lee lose Clem?"

"Yeah. We're gonna go look for her. She couldn't have gotten too far away, right? She's just a little girl."

"Let's hope at least." Christa mutters as she walks back into Omid's room. Carley and I walk downstairs and start checking rooms. Living room? Nope. Bathrooms? Nope. Kitchen? Nope. Closets? Nope. Shit. She must not be in the house. We all walk out, Christa, Omid, Kenny, and Ben joining us, and we hear Lee grunt from the sidewalk and the groan on a killed walker from the street behind. I lead the way and run towards him, where we see Lee crouched over a dead walker, its skull bashed in.

"Lee, are you crazy?" Kenny hisses, not trying to draw any more attention.

"Clem's not in the house." I tell him calmly.

"Vernon's not either. What the hell's going on?" Kenny asks in a more upset demeanor.

Lee doesn't answer. Instead, he turns to us, with a grimace on his face. We see why. His wrist. No. No. No. No. Not him. Not Lee. Fuck. FUCK.

"Fuck me…." I whisper. He's…. He's bitten.

"Oh my God" Carley sounds like she's about to cry.

"No way… No. No fucking way." Kenny sounds pissed off, shit I don't blame him.

"Kenny. There's no time to worry about me. Clementine's gone."

"Where could she be?" Carley asks through light tears. I look over to see Christa holding her. Thank God for people like her.

"I don't know. But Vernon came and talked to me about taking her with him. If I had to guess, he'd be the one that took her."

"I knew we couldn't trust that son of a bitch." Kenny snarls. "We have to find her."

"What do you need from us?" Omid asks adamantly.

But Lee doesn't respond. He looks around at all of us. I know what he wants from us. He's asking us to put it on the line for Clementine. He wants us to help him look for her, well knowing we might not make it. Well fuck it. I'm in.

"I'm in" Carley volunteers herself.

"Me too. I'll be damned if I let my fiancee go into this herself. And I'll be even more damned if I let someone who has done this much for me go on by himself like this.

"Us too." Christa says for her and her boyfriend, who showed no sign of protest.

"I'll help too." Ben says rather confidently. Just don't fuck this up, Ben. So that leaves Kenny. He looks down, a pained expression on his face.

"You've always been there for me, Lee. Always had my back when it mattered. What kinda friend would I be if I wasn't there for you now? Bitten or not, I'm with you until the end. You can count on me."

"So it's settled then. We go and find Vernon, and get Clem back." Lee smiles to us, greatly appreciative of this. I'm not crazy about possibly dying, but fuck it. If it means saving Clem, then I'm more than willing to gamble on this.

"So where does this Vernon guy live, anyway?"

"Down in the sewers. There's an old fallout shelter stocked with food and shit a few people were holding out in. If Vernon's got her, they should be in there."

I almost want to make a remark about the sewers, but I doubt that's remotely appropriate. Not now, of all times.

 **Another short chapter, but season 1 is winding down. There's like 2 more chapters after this and then we'll be on to Season 2, which I'm very excited for. Hope you guys enjoyed :]**


	15. A Ticking Time Bomb

Chapter 15 - A Ticking Time Bomb

They say a lot of things are shitty situations. Well, to that I say fuck that. I'm walking through literal shit, with a guy that has maybe hours left before he becomes a zombie, my fiancee who is still recovering from a gunshot wound, and another guy whose leg is all fucked up. All of this to help Lee find Clementine. But we do this knowing we owe it to him that we do this, and that he'd do it for us. So yeah, I'll walk through some shit for her.

But at the same time, we have to wonder about Lee's bite. The man is literally a ticking time bomb. At any moment, he could pass out, die, and come back as a walker. And the fucked up part, we don't know when it could happen. It could be tomorrow, an hour or so, hell it could even be now. We've always gotta be watching him. I don't know how long it took Duck to turn, and we don't know if it takes longer or shorter for an adult to turn. And how will Clementine react, if we find her? Shit. Hopefully we can find her and sort this shit out soon. Before… you know.

"This is it. This is the place." Lee pulls away a metal sign, revealing a hole in the wall. Inside, a small bunker. A bed, and some shelves, completely stripped clean, and not much else. He walks up to a door on the opposite side, slowly drawing his handgun. A silent count of 1, 2, 3, and he kicks the door in, pointing his gun at any resistance there may be in here.

The only problem, there is none. In fact, this place is completely empty. The dark room is completely quiet.

"You sure this is the place?" I ask Lee, he looks around. I'm not sure this is the place.

"This is definitely it. This is where Vernon and his people are. Or were, at least." he starts walking deeper into the room, investigating. "Vernon! Get out here! There doesn't have to be any trouble here. All I want is the girl! Give her back, and nobody needs to get hurt!" he heels over a table and starts holding his head. The room is dead silent, sans the evergrowing groans of a huge hoard of walkers. The light pouring in from a window is temporarily blocked by the stumbling movements of walkers. The hoard's here. That's gonna be an issue we have to deal with.

Clementine's voice comes through on the walkie, thank God she's ok. "Lee?"

"Clementine? Are you ok? Where are you?" Silence. Absolute silence. "Vernon you son of a bitch."

"Hello Lee." A voice that doesn't belong to Vernon comes through. At least, I don't think it is.

"Who is this?"

"It's not Vernon if that's what you're you should really watch your tone. Clementine's fine, but I'd choose my next words very carefully."

"What the fuck's going on?" I hiss to Lee, but he motions for me to be quiet, to communicate with Clementine's kidnapper.

"What do you want from me? I'll do it if you let her go." Lee pleads desperately.

"I want you to never hurt anybody ever again, Lee. This isn't a kidnapping. This is a rescue." A rescue? From what? There's no way he could know Lee's bitten…. Right?

Clem's kidnapper clicks off, not giving Lee a chance to respond. There's silence in the room once again, none of us know what to say or how to say it, but Kenny decides to break the silence for us.

"Don't worry pal. We'll get her back."

"Damn right. We'll mow through every fucking walker in this city if it means we get Clementine. And round in this asshole's head." My fiancee chimes in.

"Amen to that." I agree.

Christa points to Lee's arm, the bite looking a little darker. This might mean it's… getting closer. "How's it feeling?"

"It's feeling fine. Don't worry about it." Lee assures us.

"Well we don't have much time" Christa replies solemnly. She's right. We might have a day, tops. That's not a lot of time. And the growling behind us tells us we've got more problems.

I turn around, more walkers climbing through the hole. Shit. Fucking Shit. "We've got less time than we think. Close that door. We need a way outta here."

Kenny closes it and barricades it with his body, fiddling with the lock. Finally the click indicates that we're safe. For now. The banging on the door gets stronger, but the lock is holding. We all take point by the door, waiting for it to inevitably break down as Lee searches for a way. Thankfully, it only takes him a few minutes to find a solution.

"Guys! I found an opening. I got the doors open over here." Lee calls out to us. He's able to open up an elevator shaft roughly a foot or so. How he did so, I have no clue, but we're not in any position to ask these sort of questions.

"Awesome. Good shit, Lee." I grin as I turn to see him immediately fall to the ground, blacked out. Oh Shit.

"Oh shit! Fuck. Help him up onto a table!" Three of us lift him onto one of the tables in here. And now the commotion ensues.

"Is he dead?"

"What do we do?"

"We gotta cut it off" Kenny suggests.

"What? You can't be serious." Omid disagrees.

"Yeah, I am." The southern man counters. "If we can cut it off, maybe we can give him more time. If we don't, then he could be done. At least this way, we're giving him a chance."

I shake my head. "Kenny. It's been a couple hours. If we were to amputate, we should've done it earlier. The bite had to have gotten into his bloodstream by now. If had to guess, it'd be pointless at this point."

"If you had to guess? I'm sorry, are you a doctor? We don't know shit at this point. We might as well give it a shot." I almost want to ask him about the possibility of bleeding out, but he's holding a blade. A big one. Probably not the time to argue with him.

"Sorry Pal, we gotta do this." He extends Lee's arm and lowers the saw to it. As he des this, I notice Lee's face start twitching slightly. Fuck. Did he turn? Fuck Fuck Fuck.

His eyes open. His eyes are normal, not milky like a walker's. He's ok. Thank God.

"I-I-I'm awake! I'm awake!" He cries out, seeing Kenny with a saw near his arm. Kenny freezes, dropping the saw.

"Fuck! He's still bitten. We gotta save him, or at least buy him some time. Fuck!"

"We don't even know if cutting the arm off works, Kenny. Calm down. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe this is how we get the most time out of Lee.

"Well maybe he won't die from the bite if he doesn't die from the blood loss?" Omid shrugs. He could be right. I don't like the chances though. I think it's too late.

"It's your call, Lee. What're you thinking?" Christa asks softly.

Lee looks around the room, at all of us, not saying a word while doing so. Finally, he looks down and sighs. "Keep it."

"You sure? That's practically a death sentence." Kenny is still adamant about his idea. I'm pretty sure Lee's dead either way, to be honest.

"Yeah. I think I've got time. Just keep an eye on me. If I get my hands on this bastard, I'd like to have them both."

"But... you're gonna die" Omid says quietly.

"Yeah… but not in here. Not now." So that settles it. Lee keeps his arm. He leads us over to the elevator shaft, now open just wide enough for us to walk through, bringing us into a rather spacious elevator shaft. I look up. It's a long way up. Hell of a climb. But we have to. I lead the way and start climbing. Slowly going up, rung by rung. I hear a groan to my left, a walker noticing me, and weakly reaching to me. As I veer to the right, he overreaches, falling out and plummeting to his demise. I snicker as I remember the walker in Myrtle Beach doing the same thing on the hotel stairs.

"Dumbass"

"Everything ok up there?" Lee calls out from the bottom of our pack.

"Peachy. Just peachy." I say back to him, reaching the apex of the ladder.

We make it to the rooftop, and I open a door, leading us out to the roof itself. I take a look at the fallen city, and they're everywhere. Hundreds, thousands of them. Walkers everywhere.

"Remember when Savannah was empty?" Kenny remarks.

"Crawford did one thing right, I guess." Christa mutters.

"So…. what now?" Carley asks.

"Yeah. What's the plan? We don't have much time." I barely even look away from the horde.

"We gotta wait for an opening and take it. Like Ian said, we don't exactly have a lot of time." Lee nods at his arm.

"Let's find a way to get to the mansion. Anyone know where it is from here?"

"Well it's between here and River Street. So we can stop and retrace our steps if we have to."

We go our separate ways, looking around for anything useful on the rooftop. Omid and Lee take a particular interest in the bell tower right next to us. That's intriguing. We could do what Molly was doing. What happened to Molly, anyways? Ah whatever. No time for that. I see Kenny, looking off into the horizon. His expression tells me all I need to know. He's thinking about his family. Fuck. I can't help but wonder how he's feeling right now. Poor guy lost his family less than a week ago. I'm not even sure if I'm over Mom, Dad, and Mick. Hell, Mia's probably gone too. For all I know, I'm the last Sullivan alive right now. I feel my fiancee tap me on the shoulder. "Hmm?"

"Did you hear what I asked you?"

"No sorry I was thinking. What's up?"

"What should we do after Lee, you know, turns?"

"Well, I think we need to wait and see. We don't know how long we have. I think this is something we have to play by ear." I sigh. "Honestly I'm still trying to process the whole thing. I don't know what or how to feel right now."

"Yeah me too. I can't imagine what he's going through right now. God." We look over to see Lee lugging a ladder over towards Omid and the clock tower. I smile lightly.

"Modern-Day Ingenuity" I whisper to myself. Lee's gonna use the ladder to ring the bell and get the walkers over here. Incredible. He sets it on the ledge and lets it fall to the tower, which it reaches easily. He slowly starts climbing across, slightly wobbly, but it looks like it'll hold. For now at least.

As he gets closer, a piece snaps. Fuck.

"Jump for it!" I yell to him, and he leaps, narrowly catching the tower and pulling himself up. The ladder falls down and flattens a walker in the alley below.

"You good?" Omid asks him.

Lee nods as he dusts himself off. "Yeah. I'm fine." He walks over and inspects the bell for a moment before pulling the large rope that hangs from the ceiling. The clanging sound goes out for miles in every direction. Any walkers that hear it will come to it. Given how many there are now, that's a lot.

"Lee! Come on! We gotta go!" Kenny yells to him.

"I gotta jump!"

"It ain't that far! You can make it!"

With a quick breath, and a running start, my professor leaps from the tower. Aaaaaaaand he makes it. Good. Good. Good shit, Lee. Now let's get off the roof.

 **Well this was late because I think I'm developing an addiction to Fortnite. Gotta love College, right? Anyways, Season 1 is almost done. Season 2 should be pretty interesting. Hopefully you guys are as excited as I am :]**


	16. Sacrifice

Chapter 16 - Sacrifice

"Come on. We're almost there"

Lee executes a walker right in front of us as we run towards the house. The bell tower was a great distraction, the only issue is the walkers would be coming right towards us as we run to the house.

"What the fuck?" Kenny yells out from the back. I turn and see Kenny, staring at the wide open doors of the empty shed. Yes, empty. No boat. Nothing. "Come on. Just Come. The. Fuck. On!"

"You think it was Vernon?" I ask, inspecting the shed for any sign of anything.

"I'd bet on it." Lee growls. "That son of a bitch."

"Guys. It was Vernon. Look." Omid hands me a note, handwritten by the man himself.

" _Lee, I'm sorry. I really am. I feel bad that I have to do this, but it had to be done. I need this for my people. Thank you for Crawford. And best of luck to you, Clementine, and your people. I'm sorry. Vernon"_

"That piece of shit. I knew we shouldn't have trusted him. Fucking shit." Kenny roars out.

"We trusted him, and he stabbed us in the back. And now we've got nothing. We've got a few handguns, two rifles, and a thousand walkers and he took our only way out of here. So what's the plan now?" I look around at a lot of shrugs and confused expressions.

"We find Clementine, and get the hell out of cities. I'm done with cities. We need to go somewhere into the countryside." Christa says adamantly. I can agree with that.

"Yeah, I like that idea." Ben nods.

"No one asked you, Ben." Kenny snarls. Shit. I'm guessing Kenny isn't on board with this.

"Kenny chill out." Christa fires back at him. And more bickering ensues, but Lee is quick to shut that shit down.

"Guys! Keep it together. We gotta focus on Clementine and decide on a course of action after that. But let's get inside first. We can talk about this later."

"Where the hell do you get off?" Kenny yells at Ben. Yep. They didn't wait much at all, as one would expect.

"Fuck you Kenny! I get it! I fucked up! I'm sorry I got Katjaa and Duck killed! I'm sorry! But at least you got to say goodbye! I never did! I never got to say goodbye to my mom, dad, or my little sister, NONE OF THEM!"

"Guys… can we do this inside?" My fiancee asks looking off into the street. Fuckin' A. Kenny and Ben's bickering attracted a rather large group of them.

"Hold on Carley! I don't know where my family is or if they're ok! At least you got to say goodbye! I DON'T KNOW! SO GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK."

"GUYS! We need to get inside! Now!" Carley yells over Ben, pointing to the walkers getting closer and closer. We don't have the ammo for this. Not even close.

"She's right. In the house. Now."

We get inside and Lee locks the door behind us.

"Everyone! Barricade the house. Doors, windows, anything they can get in through, plug it up!." Lee yells out orders to us. I run over to the front doors, wide open and giving the walkers a clear view of us. They slowly stumble towards us, way too many for us.

With all my might, I try to keep the door closed. There's just too many. "Guys! Front Door! Help!" I yell out as they slowly overpower me. I feel myself sliding on the hardwood floor, more and more start pushing against me. Omid, Christa, Carley, and Kenny all come to my side and push on the door, but walkers reach in, jamming the door.

"Cut their fucking arms off!" Christa yells out to Lee, who runs up to the door wielding a butcher's knife. He starts hacking away, any arms that are in the way are sliced quickly, and soon enough, we're able to close the front doors successfully. With a loud click I lock the doors and for the time being, we're safe.

As it turns out, the time being was less time than I figured. A window shatters in the next room over, and judging by the sounds I'm hearing, we don't have much time at all. They start pouring in. Dozens of them. And as they keep coming, we keep moving upstairs, and Kenny and Lee move a desk to block off the hallway as we make our final stand. This is it. We know we don't have enough ammo to kill them all. We might just have to find an opening, whenever that may be.

"How many bullets do y'all have?" Kenny asks us.

Three for Christa.

Five for Lee.

Four for Omid.

Two for Ben.

Six for Carley.

And I have 20 left in my rifle. Seven in the glocke.

"Make 'em count, guys."

And so we try. And as they keep coming, and our ammo starts running dry, Christa brings down the ladder to the attic. One by one, we crawl upwards, just hoping we can hold them off long enough. I pop one more, and I climb upwards as the last one up. A hand grabs my ankle, and drags me downwards. I turn to see one trying to bite at me. I kick hard, loosening its grip on me. Another kick and he loses me entirely. Just like that, we're all up in the attic, safe and not bitten. Well, most of us.

"That could've gone better" Kenny gruffly remarks.

"Well, it could've gone worse, too. It looks like everyone's still ok, right?" I respond, scanning the room.

"Lee's still bitten." Kenny points out, as if that changes anything.

"Anyone have any ideas?" Lee asks around.

"Well we can't go out this window," Omid says looking out a large window. "This has no latches, no roof access, and it's a straight drop down from 30 feet."

I look over at Lee. He looks dizzy. That can't be a good sign, can it?

"Lee, Lee, Lee, I'm ok. I'm where my parents-" Clem's voice immediately cuts off from the walkie. Where her parents? Where her parents what?

"Where her parents…. I know it! The hotel where her parents stay at. That's where she is." Lee explains to the rest of us.

"So what's the game plan? We're kinda pressed for time here and we have no way out. There's a hundred walkers in the house and we have maybe a few bullets, so that's not exactly an option." I walk over to the window that Omid was looking through earlier. Sure enough, that drop would probably kill us. 30 Feet downwards onto hard concrete. If not, at least some broken bones. And then walkers catch up to us and we get torn to shreds. Not really an option.

I feel Carley's hand on my shoulder and for the first time in a while I see actual worry in her eyes. Throughout this whole mess, she's been so calm and collected. But now, she actually seems panicked. Is it about Lee, about Clementine, about… us? I have no clue. And frankly, I don't want to know. I pull her in for a soft kiss, which catches her by surprise but she returns the favor nonetheless.

"We're gonna be ok, you know that?" She simply shakes her head at my question. Fuck,

"No. I'm fucking scared- terrified, of what's gonna happen. Lee's bitten. We have no way out. If he turns, we're fucked. Completely fucked."

"I'm not letting that happen. We're not fucking dying up here. I'll take him out myself if it comes to that. But for now let's-" A loud thud interrupts me. A bust that was once on a small table now lies on the floor, but more interestingly, a small hole in the wall, a small amount of light pours through it. And looking through it. Another room. Actually, it's part of another house that's connected to it.

"Wood's corroded to hell, we can probably break through it." Kenny tells us as he gets to work with a large metal coat hanger. Slowly bludgeoning away, he keeps chipping the wood. We can do this. 15 or 20 minutes later, Kenny's bludgeoning stops, and he wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead. He's roughly halfway through, there's a hole that Carley and Christa may be able to fit through. But definitely not any of the bigger guys. He hands me the hanger with a soft smile.

"Maybe a young buck like yourself can finish the job this old man started." He says with a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, go take a break, old-timer. I got this." I playfully jab him in the arm and start going to work.

This shit is hard. Doing this sort of physical labor in a musty attic with little to nothing in your system wears you out quick. It's even harder when the day has absolutely kicked the shit out of you. And that it has. As I keep pounding away, and bits of wood keep falling off, a large chunk finally gives way, and I'm done.

"We're through guys"

Carley pulls me in for an embrace. Maybe this is her "new lease on life". I don't know. But we're not out yet. We've still got a ways to go.

"Room's clear. No walkers. Just keep an eye out. We don't know what's in here." I drop down into the room and the others follow. No words spoken, but all eyes go to a large bed and I hear Carley and Christa gasp. Two bodies laying in it, a man and woman's, their fingers interlocked and a bullet wound in each of their heads. Fuckin' hell. A couple's suicide. Complete silence at the shock and awe of the sight before us, but Kenny's depressed sigh breaks the silence. He's thinking about Katjaa. I put a hand on his shoulder and he looks at me with a somber, yet thankful expression. I give him a supportive nod, and a soft smile.

"We should get moving." Omid suggests.

"Probably" I nod in agreement. "Where do we get out of here?"

"Probably through there" Lee points to a door on the far side of the room. He leads us to it and opens it. It leads out to a small balcony, and an adjacent rooftop is within jumping distance. Below, a tight alley, littered with garbage but walker-free.

"If we're safe, we could probably take the rooftops all the way to River Street. Avoid the streets entirely." Kenny points out.

Lee steps up onto the railing, and with a leap, he grabs onto the rooftop and pulls himself up. Omid goes next, and clearly his leg is feeling better because he does it with ease. Then Christa. Then Kenny, leaving me, my fiancee, and Ben. I look over at Carley, who shows some uncertainty, and then to Ben, who shows even more uncertainty. Guess that leaves me. I climb onto the railing, and I take a deep breath. My eyes focus on the roof and I jump. FuckFuckFuckFuckFuck. I catch the ledge and pull myself up.

"You next, Carley. I got you, babe." My fiancee hesitantly steps up, and she jumps. I pull her up and she pulls me in for a hug, She's never been one for heights, but we're not done yet. Ben steps up to the balcony slowly. The metal slowly creaking and it sounds like it won't last much longer. He steps onto the railing, ready to leap, and it collapses. All I hear is Ben's screams and the sound of metal hitting concrete. Shit.

"Jesus Fuck! What are we gonna do?" Omid cries out frantically.

Kenny runs towards the ladder and starts going down to the ladder. What does he have in mind? Nonetheless, I follow.

"Ian, wait!" Lee yells out to me. I ignore him. I gotta see what Kenny's doing. I climb down to the alley to see Kenny crouched over Ben, laying on the ground and crying weakly. He somehow survived that fall and seems like he's relatively ok. Wow. What're the fuckin' odds?

"I'm ok guys, just get me out of here." He weakly says to us.

"Are you ok, man? You fell from three stories up."

"I'm ok…. I think my leg's hurt." He turns and coughs up some blood. That really can't be a good sign, can it?

"We'll get you up. Don't worry. Just be quiet." I assure him.

Kenny clears the area, but…. oh Jesus. I spoke to soon. Underneath all the garbage, a metal spike protruding about a foot out of his abdomen. The dark crimson stains of his blood coat his jacket and shirt. This is a losing effort. He's done.

"We can help you up. We just gotta" Kenny tries yanking him up, but his pained wailing gets louder and louder. Any second now we'll have company.

"Guys? What happened? Oh my God…" I see Lee and Carley walk into the alley and their horrified expressions as they see Ben.

"Fuck!" Kenny curses. I look back towards him. We have company. We gotta go. Now. Kenny tries to move him again. Once again, to no avail.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK" Ben wails out even louder. Shit. This isn't gonna happen. He turns and sees them and his pained expression turns to that of horror. "Oh God don't let them get to me."

"You guys got any bullets left? I've only got one left." Kenny looks over at me.

"I've got maybe 10 in the rifle." I check my weapon. Not much, and it probably won't be enough.

"Can I have it?"

"Kenny..."

"Did I fucking stutter?"

"I'm not leaving you."

"Damn it kid, get out of here."

"No."

"That wasn't a request."

"I don't care. I'm not leaving you."

"Ian!" Carley yells. "Come on!"

"If you won't do it for me, do it for her."

"I already told you, I'm not fucking leaving you."

The sound of a gate shutting halts our discussion. Lee on one side. Carley on the other. As so it would be, Carley stayed with us.

"What was that?" I ask her.

"You're not leaving Kenny. I'm not leaving you."

"Babe-" She cuts me off by kissing me, the both of us knowing this would likely be our last kiss together. I break it off after a moment and aim my rifle at the group. "Carley, try to open one of those doors. We can still get out of here. Kenny and I can deal with these bastards." I aim and fire one round. One falls. Another shot. Another down. Bang! Dead. Bang! Another Dead. But even as I keep killing, more and more keep coming. We're gonna be overwhelmed soon. This is it.

"AHHHH FUCK KENNY PLEEA-" A bang cuts off Ben's screams. I look over and see that Kenny executed the kid out of pity. His only round, in Ben's skull. Wow.

I look over at Carley, she trying to desperately open a door, and it seems like she's getting close. I kill one more and run next to her. I kick at the door a few times before slamming into it with my full body, about 180 pounds of full force contact. After several tries, it breaks down, and she rushes inside the building.

"Come on Kenny! Let's go!" She yells back to him as he wrestles with a walker. His fist goes into its skull and it drops.

"Just go! I'll be fine! Get out of here!" He slowly gets surrounded by them. Fucking hell, I gotta go back. The clicking noise of my rifle tells me I'm out of bullets, but I'm not taking that. I'm getting Kenny out of there. The butt of my rifle goes into the skull of a walker, killing it instantly. But, we're swarmed. It's hopeless.

"Ian! We need to go! Now!" Carley pulls me away from the crowd and into the building.

"Fuck! Kenny! KENNY!" I cry out among the groans. No response. He's gone. Fuckin' Hell he's gone.

"It was him or all three of us, Ian. Kenny died knowing that. He sacrificed himself for us. Don't forget that."

I slowly nod. She's right. Fuck me. "So what's the call?"

"Christa and Omid are going to get Clementine. They'll take care of her. I don't think we can get to them, so we should get out of the city."

"You sure?"

"As sure as I can be"

"Sounds like a plan. Try to avoid the walkers. Find openings where you can. But most of all get the Hell out of Savannah"

And so we do. We run through streets and streets of walkers. By dusk, we're out of the city and into the woods. Alone, completely alone. Just the two of us and nobody else. We've lost everything but each other, and I'll be damned to lose her, too.

 **Well, that's it for Season 1. Season 2 has been started and I'm almost done with the first chapter of that. Hopefully you guys are all as excited for this as I am. I'm liking how this is going so far. Hope you guys enjoyed :]**


	17. Reunited

Chapter 17 - Reunited

 **2 YEARS LATER**

"It looks empty. I don't think anyone's home. Looks like we found a place to stay for a bit." I continue looking down the scope of my Remington 700 rifle. A decent sized cabin, completely dark. I can't see anyone inside. This could be our lucky break.

"It'll be nice to finally have a place to stay, even if it's just for a bit. It beats camping out in the fucking woods" Carley remarks, now my wife of about a year. While not formally married, we figured we might as well just call each other married, for the sake of convenience.

2 Years ago, Carley and I were stranded in the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia, with nothing but each other. Today, we're in South Carolina, I think? I don't know. It's either South Carolina or Tennessee. At this point, it doesn't really matter. All that really matters is that we're alive.

As for weapons, rounds that work for the M4 were scarce, so I dumped it shortly after Savannah. Instead, I now have a Remington 700 Rifle, conveniently left in a Sporting Goods store in Atlanta. I was able to scrounge up about 3 boxes of ammo in the store, and with how common the gun is, .223 rounds are much more common, too. Perfect for the 700. I still have the glocke for close fights, but by far the best weapon for killing walkers is a red machete I found lying in the woods one afternoon. How something as effective as this machete is left in the woods, I have no clue. But, I'm not complaining. It does work. Carley still has her glocke and a knife for dispatching any walkers.

I still think about the group in Savannah, those we lost, those we didn't. I like to think Christa and Omid might still be out there, maybe even Clementine. I'm not exactly keeping my hopes up, though.

We've met other groups over the past couple of years. Some great people, some not so great. I've had to kill some people. Most of the time it was assholes like those guys at the motor inn, but this one kid. He was maybe 15 or 16. Poor kid got bit on the arm, clear as day. Prior to that day, I never shot at, much less killed someone that hadn't tried to hurt me or Carley or someone I was close to in some way. But this kid, he was done for, and he knew it. So he asked me to put him down, like that woman we found at the Motor Inn back in Macon. I obliged, and put a bullet in his head. The thought of it still haunts me today. With how many assholes I've killed in this mess, you'd think that I'd become desensitized to killing, and that killing someone would feel as natural as death itself. But it doesn't. Not at all. This shit's gotta change for the better soon.

Carley and I slowly walk up to the cabin, and she quickly knocks on the door. No response, so I slowly turn the doorknob. Unlocked. Beautiful. I step into the dark room and slowly close the door behind us. The rustling of winds in the trees and our creaking footsteps the only noises in the house.

"Seems empty. Guess we do have a place to stay after all." I turn to my wife, but before she responds, I hear a clicking noise behind me. Rather, the cock of a shotgun. The owner juts it into my back and I hear a feminine voice behind me.

"Drop your weapons" Not wanting to get shot, I comply and raise my hands in surrender. In the pale moonlight, I see Carley do the same. "Turn around. Slowly. Keep your hands up." Our captor orders me. Once again, I comply, slowly turning my body to face her, keeping my hands up. I finally get a view of her. About 5'8", Blonde Hair…. My jaw drops. Holy shit.

"Mia?"

"Ian?"

I pull my little sister into a tight embrace. My little sister, the same one that I thought died 2 years ago, the one I thought to be as good as dead, is standing right in front of me.

"How did you get out of Savannah?" I ask her.

"I was in Charlotte for a soccer tournament. I joined a group there and I've been with them ever since. How'd you guys get out of Myrtle Beach?"

"We left as soon as shit hit the fan. Holy fuck. You have no idea how glad I am to see you." I laugh and hug her again.

"I know I can't believe it. D-Did Mom and Dad make it? And Mick?" I frown and shake my head.

"We came home that night and they both turned. Mick was bitten, but we found him with shot in the head. I'm not sure if he did it himself or if someone else did. But they didn't make it the first night."

"Fuck…" She frowns. "I always hoped that I'd see you and Carley and Mom and Dad and Mick just together one day again. But getting to see you two, that's good enough for me."

"What's going on down here?" A voice calls out from the stairs. An older man's, it sounds like.

"Oh, Pete! This is my brother Ian, and his fiancée Carley. I never thought I'd see them again."

"Ehhh…. it's wife, actually, not fiancée, but that's not important right now." I correct my sister.

"Nice to meet you both. Glad to see family reunited. Especially after 2 years. Mia mentioned you guys a bit. And I'll be honest I didn't think you guys would've made it. Glad to see I was wrong."

"Never woulda thought I'd see Mia again either, so I'm glad I was wrong too." I laugh, still in shock. Wow. It's really her.

"Well it's late. Why don't you kids catch up in the morning, and you can meet the rest of the group then?" Pete suggests.

"Sounds like a plan." Mia gets Carley and I set up in the spacious living room, Carley sleeping on the couch and me on a recliner. It wasn't an ideal setup, but as my wife said earlier, it beats camping out in the woods.

I wake up some hours later to glasses and a bright pair of eyes staring into mine. A little girl, maybe 9 or 10, not much older than what Clementine would've been. A big smile forms on her face.

"Hi" she says with a grin.

"Uh, hi." I groggily reply as I run the sleep out of my eyes.

"What's your name?" She asks me inquisitively.

"I'm Ian—" She cuts me off before I can even finish what I was saying.

"That's cool. I'm Sarah. I'm here with my dad. He's super cool and he's a doctor. He helps us when we get hurt and when we get sick."

"Sarah please. Let the nice man wake up." An older Hispanic man lightly scolds her. "Sorry about that. I am Carlos. You're Ian? Mia's brother?"

"Yep. That'd be me and my wife Carley." I offer my hand and he firmly shakes it.

"Yes, I've already met Carley. A very nice woman. You're a lucky man."

"I like to think so." I smile softly. "So how many people do you guys have in your group?"

"There's 8 of us. 10 if you two end up joining us. Pete is adamant about letting you stay with us and your sister. And I'm sure the rest of the group is more than willing to agree with that."

"Well that's a very generous offer. I'll have to talk with my wife about it but I'm sure she'd be on board."

"I would assume so too. It seems that the group's already warmed up to her." This makes me smile.

"She has that effect on people. I'll talk with her about it." I get up and look for her. Outside, I see her talking with a stocky African-American man and an African-American woman who appears to be in the third trimester of a pregnancy. Why someone would want to bring a child into this mess is beyond me, but to each their own, I suppose.

"Ian you finally woke up!" Carley says in a half-mocking, half-genuine tone. I roll my eyes and kiss her on the cheek.

"Hey don't blame me for getting my first good night's sleep in about 2 Years. That recliner felt like Heaven." Carley giggles and the man she was chatting with has a hearty laugh.

"Oh right. Ian, this is Alvin and his wife, Rebecca. Alvin and Rebecca, my husband, Ian." Carley introduces us to each other and I shake Alvin's hand. At roughly 6'4, he towers over most people, and if he didn't seem so nice, I assume a lot of people may be intimidated just by his size alone.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ian. I hear you're Mia's older brother?" Alvin asks me.

"Yep. Mia's my baby sister." I feel someone climb onto my back and hear my little sister's giggling.

"Speak of the Devil" Alvin remarks with a smile.

"So I see you met Alvin and Rebecca. They helped me get out of Charlotte. They could have easily left me for dead, but they took me in and for that, I owe them everything." My sister explains to me and I smile even harder.

"Aww c'mon. I couldn't leave a little girl like you in those streets. You woulda been torn to shreds in 20 minutes. It was the least I could do."

"Thank you. Seriously thank you guys. I never thought I'd see Mia alive again and you helped make that happen. Thank you so much."

"Hey don't mention it. It's a messed up world and the only way we're gonna fix it is if we watch out for each other." I like the optimism.

"Have you met the rest of the group yet?" My sister asks me and my wife.

"Yep. I've met everyone already. Pete introduced me this morning. Have you Ian?"

"Not everyone. I've met Carlos and Sarah, Alvin and Rebecca, and Pete to an extent. I believe that means there's two I haven't met?"

"So you haven't met Luke and Nick yet. You'll like Luke. He's really nice. Nick's gonna be moody cause he…. he lost his mom recently. But he's alright normally. I think they're out chopping some wood. I'll bring you out to them." Mia takes my hand and leads me out into the woods.

The crunching of leaves as Mia and I walk and our conversation is the only noises one could hear as she takes me deeper into the woods. The area seems pretty quiet, except for the occasional walker corpse. Thankfully, we haven't had to run into any that are alive.

"So what was it like in Savannah?"

"Complete shitshow. The city was overran and there were walkers everywhere. To be honest, I don't know how we made it out. But we did. We went to Macon when it all started to find Carley's family. We didn't find them but we met up with a group. So we stayed in Macon for a few months and had our fair share of adventures there before it ran its course and we found ourselves back in Savannah. Unfortunately, people in our group were dropping like flies and I almost lost Carley. It wasn't pretty."

"Have you had to kill anyone?"

"Plenty. Pretty much just assholes and people who were bitten and wanted to be put down. But I've seen some sick fucks out there." I turn to my little sister. "This world and its people have gone to shit. We've had to do unspeakable things to survive. I've had to do things I'm not proud of, and I'm sure you have too. It's a harsh reality we have to live with. And I fucking hate it."

"Yeah, I know… me too."

"You have to kill anyone?" I ask my sister and she rubs her arm while looking away.

"Yeah… I killed one guy. He was coming at us with a knife and I shot him. Straight in the chest. I still think about it some nights, I ended someone's life. I know he woulda killed us, but still."

I put my hand on my sister's shoulder "Mia. No girl your age should ever have to do something like that. But it's a good thing you did. Maybe it won't be the last person you have to kill, but at least you know you're capable of doing it when you need to. I wasn't sure I had it in me when I had to put down my first asshole back in Macon."

"What happened?"

"Well, I'd left our little camp to go on a walk. And as I did this another group came and held everyone hostage, Carley included. So I shot the asshole that was holding Carley hostage. And then I got shot. I ended up shooting 3 or 4 of them, I think. One of them got me good though, right through the ankle. It hurt to walk for a while. But since then, I've killed a fair amount of people. Just doing what-"

"Who's there? Show yourselves!" a man's voice yells out at us. I look around, but I can't see anyone, but Mia scoffs.

"Chill out, Nick. It's just me and my brother. I'm just introducing him to the three of you." She leads me a little further and I see three men, two younger and one older. I assume the older one is Pete, leaving Luke and Nick.

"So this is the famous brother? The football player?" One of the men, wearing an Orange shirt and hadn't shaved in a bit of time, asks with a warm smile. His voice is a lot friendlier than the guy who yelled out at us.

"In another life." I sigh and shrug. "Ian."

"I'm Luke. And this is Nick." He points to the other guy, wearing a blue sweatshirt and a dirty baseball cap.

"Sorry about yelling out at you guys. It's been a rough few weeks." He frowns, but I stop him.

"It's cool. I get it. Don't worry about it."

"So I finally get to formally meet Ian." Pete says as he shakes my hand with a genuine Southern smile. He, like Alvin, has a burly build. Although he's much older.

"It's nice to finally meet everybody. I haven't had a real group like this in a while. Carley and I have spent most of this in small groups or by ourselves. And it never hurts to see your little sister again in said group." Mia beams and hugs me. It still feels so surreal.

That afternoon, I met the entire group and got to know them all. Mia, Nick, and I headed back to the cabin. Luke and Pete stayed out a little longer, maybe to hunt for some food, maybe to gather some more wood. I'm not too sure. But hours later, snuggling on the couch with Carley, I slowly start to drift asleep as I hear the crack of a gunshot and commotion. I jolt up, frantically looking for my glocke. I grab it and see Luke run outside.

"What the hell's going on?" I hear him yell.

"Everyone just calm down!" Alvin tries his best to mediate the situation.

"Guys! What the fuck's going on?" My heart stops as I see her. Sitting down, right in the middle of the group. Clementine? How the? "What the fuck? Clementine? Is that you?" Holy fuck. Clementine is alive? And sitting right in front of me nonetheless?

"Ian?"

"Ian you know this girl?" Rebecca asks me.

"Yeah she was in my group like 2 years ago. We got separated in Savannah and I thought she was gone." I explain to Rebecca as I feel Clem hug me.

"Careful Ian! She's bitten!" I jump back a bit at Rebecca's accusation.

"What're you talking about?"

"Look at her arm. She's bleeding a ton. She claims she was bitten by a dog, but I'm not buying it. She got bit by one of those damn walkers."

"Hold on, let me look at it." Carlos intervenes from behind. With a warm smile, he offers his hand.

"Come on Carlos, you know that won't help anything." she angrily remarks with her arms crossed.

"Well come on now. Let's just give it a look. It could very well be a dog for all we know." Carlos replies as he rolls up her sleeve, revealing dried blood and a bite mark, clear as day.

"I think she's telling the truth, guys. Look at the bite. It's not like a walker's. It looks like something more narrow, like a dog's, maybe. I don't think she's lying."

"Perhaps Ian's right. Maybe this was a dog bite. But I'm not certain that is the case. A bite like that could've been anything" Carlos agrees, sorta?

"Well she weighs as much as a sack of flour. Anything happens and we can take care of it. Worst case scenario is she turns and we deal with it then, right?" Pete also agrees, kinda?

"Well there's only one way to find out; we wait. We can lock her in the shed and if a fever's set in, we'll know she's gonna turn. If she doesn't, then we're good." Carlos explains to the rest of us and the reaction is mixed to varying degrees.

"What about her arm? You can't just leave a wound like that open, right?" I ask Carlos.

"I'm not wasting supplies on a lurker bite. If she's telling the truth, I'll clean it and stitch it up in the morning." Carlos walks off without saying another word. I roll my eyes. It's clearly not a walker bite. Pete, Luke, and Nick walk Clem over to a small shed in front of the house, and I hear Rebecca scof behind me.

"This is all a waste of time. And I ain't gonna be cleanin' up the shed when she turns." She mutters to Alvin as the two pass by me. I stand by myself, shaking my head in front of the house. This is bullshit.

 **It took me a while to get around to posting this. Partially because of a busy schedule with finals, work, and social life, and partially because just completely forgot to work on this for the most part. I'm gonn try to get back into the weekly posts, but we'll see.**


	18. Cold

Chapter 18 - Cold

"I'm telling you guys. This is bullshit. It's a little girl. How much trouble could she be? Even if she's actually bitten, we couldn't have given her a room inside? I mean shit, it's freezing cold and raining. That's just cruel, man. Bitten or not, you don't do that to a kid." I plead Clem's case to the group, but most of them aren't hearing it.

"I'm sorry Ian." Pete sympathizes with me. "I know it's not right, but we have to be looking out for the group. We can't risk that sort of thing."

"Yeah," Rebecca adds. "What if she turns and in the middle of the night bites me, or Alvin, or you, or your wife, or any of us? You wanna know what would be bullshit? That."

"Ian, she's right. And if she's not infected, then we can deal with the arm in the morning. If she's infected, then we don't have to risk any of us getting bitten. It's the best move for the group, man. I hate it too, but we got no other choice." Alvin agrees with his wife. I rub the ridge of my nose and shrug my shoulders in concession.

"Fine. You guys win. We'll wait till the morning." I frown, but judging by the general consensus, I wasn't getting anywhere with these people.

"Is that all, Pete?" Carlos asks.

"I guess that's all for the meeting. We keep Clementine in there until the morning. Carlos'll take a look at her at dawn. Anything else?" Silence. Guess not. "Well ok then." Pete adjourns the meeting, and we go our separate ways.

Frustrated, I sit down on the couch, looking up and thinking. When I thought I'd lost everyone but Carley, here comes Mia. Even more, Clementine is alive. Granted who knows if Clementine is really good for right now. Hell, she could very well be bitten. I was adamant then about her not being bit but maybe now, with everyone being cautious, maybe I'm having doubts.

My wife sits down next to me, putting an arm around me in support. I smile as she kisses me on the cheek.

"I know you're right about Clem. It's not fair to do this to a little girl. But we don't have much of a say in the matter. It'll wait until the morning, and I'm sure she'll be ok."

"Yeah. I know. I wish it could be different. But I know they're right. Fuck."

"You stood up for what you believed in. You always do. You're not afraid to say what you think. It's something I've always admired about you. Someone who stands up for their convictions, it's not something you see much of anymore." My wife's compliment brings a smile to my face. She never fails to do that to me. Maybe that's what sparked my interest in her in the first place, all those years ago.

The two of us sit there, enjoying each other's company, not really saying much, just taking in the warmth of the fire. With all this, I can't stop thinking about Clementine. Stuck in the freezing rain, a fresh wound being left untreated, in a dirty shed. That's cruel. I'm not about to fuck this up by helping her out, against the group's wishes, but the ethical dilemma here is both palpable and pressurizing. I see Luke, Alvin, and Pete walk up to the door. "What's going on?"

"Pete said he heard a noise from the shed. We're gonna make sure Clem's alright and you know, not turned or anything." Luke explains. I get up and join them, wanting to make sure the girl's ok.

Luke leads the way outside, as the rain continues to fall, I start to hear a noise in the shed, slowly getting louder as we get closer. The unmistakable groaning. A walker's groan. Fuck. Does this mean she-?

Luke busts the door open, and we see the sight before us: Clem busting a walker's skull in with a hammer. My jaw drops, and Luke whispers something to himself. Clem turns to us, hands bloody, wound stitched up decently, and a pissed off look on her face.

"Still. Not. Bitten." She lets out, panting.

"You patched yourself up?" Luke asks, pointing at the stitching she(?) performed.

"Where'd you get that stuff? Did you steal from us?" Nick accuses hostiley.

"Enough Nick. This doesn't change anything. It doesn't matter. Any of you would have done the same if you were half as tough as this little girl, so just save it." Pete defends her and her actions. Can't say I blame her for doing that. He's right, I would've done the same.

Carlos sighs behind me, accepting that she went against his judgement. "Bring her inside and I'll give her a look." he says, walking back inside to get out of the cold and rain. The rest of us join him, Clementine included this time.

I slowly creak the door open to see Luke and Clem conversing while Clem eats a bowl of oatmeal. I sit down and join them, finally getting an opportunity to catch up with her.

"Oh. Hey Ian. I'll give you two some time to, you know, catch up." Luke gets up from his seat and leaves before I can tell him otherwise, but I shrug it off regardless.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're ok. Frankly, I wasn't sure I'd see you alive after Savannah." I smile as she keeps eating.

"I didn't think I'd see you either. Lee told me you guys were dead. You, Carley, and Kenny were all trapped. What happened?"

"A whole lotta fucked up shit." I explain to Clementine what happened in that alley with Ben, and how Kenny sacrificed himself for him, and how even when we had an open exit, Kenny stayed back to hold them off, ultimately succumbing to them, but buying us valuable time, and how we were able to get out of Savannah. It wasn't my first time talking about that situation, but this time feels that much more heartbreaking. It's not easy to talk about, but explaining it to Clementine just made it that much harder to talk about. Upon asking her what happened to her, she just frowns and shakes her head.

"Lee was bitten when he found me. He killed the man holding me captive, strangled him. But we didn't get far after that. His bite was bad and he had me…. Put him down." My heart drops as I learn of Lee's fate. At least he found Clem. "But Christa and Omid took me in. They watched me ever since then. Well, Christa mostly. Omid was killed a few months after that, some girl shot him, and he bled out in Christa's arms. And it was right before Christa had her baby, but it died shortly after she had it. There was something she called it…. a miss carriage? I don't know. But Christa and I were on our own for more than a year, until we were ambushed by a group. I got split up from her and I don't know where she is. But I think she's still out there, I hope."

"I don't know if I'd get your hopes up Clem. But I hope she's out there, too. Omid and Christa were both great people. I know they did a good job looking out for you." I give a small smile of reassurance, but she doesn't seem to be in a smiling mood.

The door cracks open again and Pete walks in. "I'm glad to see the two of you catching up, but this place is lit up like a damn beacon. Y'all should get your shuteye cause a few of us are going fishing in the morning. A couple of fresh brookies for dinner. Tell me that doesn't sound great." He says with a smile.

"Nothing I'd want more. Well, maybe a nice big juicy porterhouse steak. But I don't assume you guys have cattle?" I say with a grin.

He chuckles. "Don't get greedy, boy. Most people would kill to have a reliable source of fish or any sort of meat."

I nod, still smiling. "I know, I know. Fish sounds incredible. Thank you, Pete. And c'mon Clem. It's probably time to get to sleep anyways. Carley's probably out cold and I should be, too." I walk out into the living room to see her passed out on the couch once again. I sit down on the recliner and doze off even quicker than the night before.

 **Short Chapter. Good thing is, I have another 3 or 4 chapters already written so I'll be able to get back onto the once a week schedule for the time being. Hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you guys next Thursday :]**


	19. Carver

Chapter 19 - Carver

Clementine, Pete, and Nick left on their fishing trip a few hours ago. Pete marveled about what he can do with a fish, and the sheer thought of a fish dinner makes my mouth water. What I wouldn't do for a fish right now. Hell, I'd snatch it out of the air like a grizzly bear if I had to.

But there was some concern. It had been some time, more than I'd thought, since they left. Dawn was at about 7:15. Right now, roughly 3:30. In my eyes, this can mean one of two things. Either the haul was too great for them to stop, or something has gone horribly wrong. Not wanting to seem paranoid or pessimistic, I don't mention it, but I also don't doubt others are thinking it.

But they never seem to come. Day turns to dusk, and dusk turns to evening, and evening turns to night, but by evening, everyone is concerned. Should we go out looking, Should we stay and wait? The group is completely divided on this. But in the end, Alvin and Luke volunteer to go out that morning. They know the spot and where to look. Expecting the worst, we wait longer and longer, praying everyone makes it home. Me, Carley, Mia, Rebecca, and Carlos wait as the sun rises higher and higher, patiently sitting, waiting for anything. Sarah's here too, but she's in her own little world. Sometimes, I even wonder if she knows what's going on, or if she's oblivious to the whole situation. In all honesty, I think it's the latter.

I hear the back door bust open, to see Clementine standing there with a panicked expression.

"Clementine! Are you ok?" Carlos cries out from the kitchen.

"Where's Alvin and Luke and everyone else?" Rebecca adds.

"We were attacked by walkers. Pete was bitten. I don't know where everyone else is." Clem confesses.

"Oh my God… we gotta go." Rebecca tells Carlos.

"Hold on a minute Rebecca. Are you sure-?" She cuts me off before I can suggest that maybe it's not a good idea.

"My husband is out there, damn it. Carlos. Get. The. Guns." Carlos complies, but I think he agrees that it's maybe not a good idea. He hands Rebecca a rifle and walks towards the back door, before turning to me and Carley.

"Guys. Can you watch Sarah? Just distract her for the time. Keep her in her room."

"You got it Carlos."

"Thank You. And don't open the door for anything. Just us. We'll be back soon."

"Get back here safe." My wife adds before they head off. A slam of the door and it's me, Carley, Mia, and the kids.

I open the door to Sarah's room to see that Mia is already keeping her busy. Sarah is standing against a wall and Mia takes her picture with a Polaroid camera. Haven't seen one of those in forever. Sarah's face lights up when she sees me and Carley.

"Hi! Can I take your picture?" She asks us excitedly. I stand there, not really sure how to answer, but my wife answers for me.

"We'd love to. We never had any sort of wedding photos done, so this will do, right Ian?"

"I suppose so. Why not?" Sarah beams at the opportunity to photograph us, and after more than a few shots, she finally has enough pictures for us. The two of us look them over, and for a dated Polaroid, the pictures weren't bad. In the end, I took a picture of both of us and one of just Carley, and snuck them into my jacket pocket. I hear a knock at the front door. Anyone from the group would've just walked in, so who could it be? Carlos told me not to answer, but the gravelly voice from outside, it seemed compelling, I don't know why.

"Hello?" He says, "Anyone home?"

Clementine opens the door, revealing an older gentleman, maybe late-40s, early 50s. Slightly graying hair, and a nice brown jacket. He could use a bit of a shave, too, but I'm not exactly one to talk in that regard, either.

"Hello there." He says to Clementine. "How are you."

"I'm ok. How are you?" She responds.

"Well I am doing just fine, thank you." He gives her a slight smile.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask him as I come downstairs.

"Yes you can, as a matter of fact. My name's Bill Carver.

"Ian. Ian Madsen. I'm here with my wife Carley and our daughter, Clementine." Of course, I'm completely lying through my teeth, using Carley's maiden name and the completely false statement that Clem is my daughter.

"Your daughter? You seem a little young to be a father of what, a 10 year old?" He raises an eyebrow at me. I think he's on to me. Fortunately, I can think quick on my feet for this sorta thing.

"Clem's 9. And she wasn't exactly planned, if you get what I mean. Carley and I had her right after high school, on accident. But, she's the best accident I could've asked for. And here we are. 27, married, and in the zombie apocalypse." Once again, blatant lies. We're 23, married, and zero kids in the zombie apocalypse. "So what can I do for you?"

"Right…..I've been looking for some people. Thought I may find them around here. They're part of a group I was a part of. I wanna say 8 of them. A couple of guys in their late 20s, one brown hair, one black hair. An older Mexican man, and his daughter. A little brat about the same age as your girl. An older gentleman, kind but stern as hell, big guy. A black couple, the woman rather pregnant and the husband another big guy. And then a smaller girl, maybe 18 or so, blonde hair. Really fast runner. Real pretty little thing. Let me think. Yeah that's all of them. 8. Have you seen them?" My back stiffens as he mentions my sister, but I lock my jaw and shake my head. Once again, another blatant lie. I silently pray that he isn't on to me.

"Can't say I have, Bill. But hopefully you find your people." He smiles, but he looks me up and down, sizing me up, maybe? I don't like this.

"I appreciate that, Mr. Madsen. Guess I'll keep looking. Perhaps we'll cross paths again." He says with a nod and walks off. Creepy. Really fucking creepy. I shut the door slowly, watching him walk off into the woods.

"Is he gone?" my sister whispers to me.

"Yeah he's gone Mia. Who's that guy?"

"His name's Bill Carver. We were part of his community and things were… pretty bad. He wants to bring civilization back to the way it was, but I think he's a psychopath. He kills people just for not thinking his way. We left his group a few weeks ago, we barely escaped. But Carver, he doesn't let people leave. I guess he's been hunting us since, like a wolf. Oh God he knows where we are."

"Hey. I'm not gonna let him do anything."

"You don't know this man. He's vicious. Bloodthirsty. Sadistic. A complete madman with power. He'll do whatever it takes to find us."

"Fucking shit. We have to find the others."

Speak of the Devil. The back door unlocks. Everyone's back. Just minutes after Carver came by looking for them.

"Everyone ok?" I ask them.

"Well, Pete's gone." Luke says with a frown. "But yeah… everyone else is good."

"Good. Cause we've got a problem."

"What's up?" Alvin asks.

"Your friend Carver? He's looking for you guys. He just came by asking about you. I lied and bought us some time. But I don't know how much."

"Did you just say Carver? Bill Carver? He was here?" Rebecca asks angrily. "Oh God damn it. I knew it! They're working with him! And now we're fucked!"

"Rebecca stop!" My sister yells. "He isn't working with Carver. He did lie. He lied about a ton of things, even his name. Carver doesn't have a clue."

"Be that as it may, he knows we're around here. And maybe if it weren't for Ian, he might've stuck around. But we have to pack up now. We leave tonight." Carlos turns to me. "Carver knows you now. In his eyes, you're no better than us just because you're with us. Make no mistake, this man is smart, always 3 steps ahead. He will play mind games with you that you cannot imagine. He knows."

"How is that possible?"

"Like I said. He's 3 steps ahead. He probably scouted this place for days before now. You need to be careful. I'm sorry we had to get you involved."

I stay silent for a minute, pondering my options, but I can't leave them like this. Guess we're going on the run.

"So, tonight?"


	20. On the Run

Chapter 20 - On the Run

It's been a week. Whatever mind games Carver's been playing with us, they're working. Walking around, starving away in the woods. Maybe this was his endgame to all this. Starve us until we waste away. Let the paranoia overtake us.

We finally come to a clearing in the woods. A large bridge leading over a canyon and river comes into view. Clementine take out some binoculars and looks.

"You see anything?" I ask her.

"Uhhhhhhhhh. Yep. I see a lift of some sort." I look up the mountain, and just on the horizon, I see what looks to be a ski resort of some sort.

"Must be that ski resort up the way." Luke points out on his map.

"Ski resort. Could be a nice place to camp out for the night. Hell, maybe a long-term solution of Carver has given up on us" I suggest.

"I wouldn't hold my breath, man. Dude is relentless. Ain't no way he'll give up that easily." Alvin rebuts. I shrug and keep looking.

"We gotta cross that bridge. I'll go across and make sure it's safe, and then we can get everyone else across." Luke offers.

"You sure splitting everyone up is a good idea?" Carlos questions.

"Well I wouldn't say it's a good idea, but it's safer than risking everybody at once."

"I'm with Luke on this. Someone should make sure we're safe. We don't know what's out there." My wife agrees with him. So do I.

"I'm with the missus on this one. If we can make sure we're safe, it's less risky overall." The rest of the group nods in agreement. So that's settled.

"Alright then. Clem and I will go across and signal you guys when it's good to go." Luke and Clem start walking towards the bridge.

"I'll cover you guys in case shit goes South. If something happens, I got you." I grab my rifle and follow.

"Awesome. Thanks." He smiles and the three of us walk. Soon, we're at one edge of the bridge. Luke and Clem dispatch a couple walkers and I take a position on top of a broken down car. With this, I have a perfect view of the bridge. Aside from the debris, it looks empty. Maybe this'll go smoothly.

"Alright. I've got a view of everything. Just keep going and I'll watch over ya."

"Only shoot if necessary. A shot will ring out for miles here. It'd be like a giant neon sign for Carver."

"Right. Only if necessary."

The two of them walk along the bridge. Killing a couple walkers but otherwise, no trouble for them. A dark figure walks onto the far side of the bridge. Is it a walker? No. It's a guy. Definitely a guy holding a rifle not unlike mine. I can't really hear, but they have some sort of conversation.

"What do you see out there?" Nick startles me as I try to focus.

"Jesus man. Don't scare me like that. It's just a guy."

"What the- he's holding a gun!"

"Yeah genius, it's the zombie apocalypse. He's not doing anything." He doesn't listen to me. Instead, he runs out, pointing the gun at the stranger.

"Nick! Jesus fuck man! Stop!" Again, he doesn't listen. So, I give chase. I barely catch up to him to find himself in a standoff with the stranger. Each one just waiting for

 **BANG!**

I clutch my ear as the sound of a single gunshot rings out for miles in each direction. Nick stands. So that means…

"What the fuck is wrong with you? I said don't shoot!" Luke scolds his friend.

"Did I hit him?"

"Yes you hit him dumbass. He's dead. You killed him. And he was offering us food and supplies." I shake my head at Nick's dumbassery. Luke's explanation doesn't help either.

"Well we gotta get off the bridge. Get everyone and let's go. Carver could be here before we know it."

"I'll get them." Nick offers. Maybe as redemption. I'm not having it.

"Don't fuckin' shoot them."

"Fuck You."

We cross the bridge as a whole without any more issues. We decide to stay at the small station house for a little while, but Alvin noticed some walkers coming towards us from the bridge, no thanks to Nick's shot, I would assume. So, we begin the long trek upwards, to the ski lodge.

In the time it takes for all of us to get up the mountain, dusk turns into night. Knees aching, backs giving out, spirits breaking, I only hope that we can lay down inside. Maybe even get some food. I look over at Rebecca who, despite the fact she's very far along with her pregnancy, is able to keep up. That can't be good, can it? Or, is it really a good thing for her? I don't know. I'm not exactly keen on a lot of pregnancy things.

We reach the peak, and I collapse down in the grass, breathing deep and letting the soreness get out. Walking for a week straight takes its toll on anyone. I was finding this out the hard way. My wife sits down next to me.

"How're you feeling baby?"

"Had better days sweetheart. Had better days." I sigh and rub my knees. Especially my right one, the one I fucked up in college. It feels like it's on fire. I need some rest.

"Hey Ian. You wanna take a look back, make sure that hoard isn't too close? You've got the scope, so I figure you could." Luke asks me.

"Yeah. Yeah. Sure." I get up with a groan, and slowly walk over to an area with a clear view of the bridge. A few scragglers down the way, but not as many as…. Wait. What the fuck's that? A light? No. Multiple lights. I should tell somebody.

"Hey! Who are you people?" I hear come from my left, from the lodge itself. Great. We're not alone. And they don't sound happy.

"Easy. We don't want a fight." Carlos tries to mediate.

"We ain't here to rob nobody, man. Just calm down. Put down your guns." Alvin tries to further mediate. I walk over as I hear a familiar voice.

"Fuck That!" He says.

I make my way to the front, through my current group, and my jaw drops.

"No fucking way." His jaw drops, too.

"Holy fucking shit." I let out under the sheer shock.

"Ian?"

"Kenny?"


	21. Hunted

Chapter 21 - Hunted

It's Kenny. It's really him.

"Ian, you know this guy?" Luke asks.

"Not just me. Carley and Clem know him too. Kenny was in our group back in Georgia. Man's saved my life more times than I can think of."

"Clem's alive?" He smiles brightly. Sure enough, Clem makes her way to the front and runs towards Kenny for a big hug. Carley hugs him, too.

After a few minutes, Kenny gets up, and with a warm smile, nods to the inside. "We can talk inside."

"Great." One of his friends says, a large, balding man with a red sweater. "I just started dinner." He, Kenny, and the third person, a tan woman, maybe a few years younger than Kenny, lead us into the building.

I stare in awe at the sight before me. Lights. Not like a flashlight, but actual Christmas lights. I hadn't seen Christmas lights since Carley and I were dating. And music. Christmas music. And to top it all off, a giant Christmas tree. Wow. In all this mess, I almost forgot that it's almost Christmas. My favorite holiday. Wait, if they have lights, that must mean they have electricity? How?

"Kenny and Sarita have been staying with us for a few months. This used to be a ski lodge, obviously, so we have plenty of food. And we still get some power from the wind turbine over there. We tend to keep the lights off at night to avoid attention, but we found all this Christmas stuff in storage downstairs, and we couldn't resist." The man explains as we get settled in.

"Walter here's a smart sonuvabitch." Kenny says with a chuckle, "And he makes a mean can of beans, too."

"Well why don't you guys catch up while I get dinner started?" Walter suggests. I smile and nod. "You all can leave your things over there" he adds, pointing to a bench by the door. But, the group doesn't seem to keen about this.

"The hell we will." Rebecca shakes her head.

"Yeah I'm gonna hold onto my rifle, thanks" Nick adds.

"Please, you're our guests here. There's nothing to worry about." Walter assures us. I'm hesitant to agree, cause of those lights, but the place seems safe enough.

"Tell him to put his gun down." Nick tells Walter, about Kenny.

"Ian, do you trust these folks?" Ken asks me.

"With my life. They're good people Kenny. You can trust them." I make an example by taking my rifle and setting it down, handgun too. Finally, my machete is propped up against a wall and I'm completely unarmed. My wife does the same with her sidearm and knife, and eventually the others follow suit. Soon enough, we're all unarmed, and it's all good.

"Great," I finally hear Sarita's voice. I can't tell if she's Hispanic or Indian, but either way she seems rather nice. "I'll show you where you can sleep." She leads most of the group upstairs except me, Carley, Mia, Clem, and Kenny. We decide to stay back and catch up with Kenny, or in Mia's case, introduce her to Kenny.

"Mia, this is Kenny. Ken, this is my little sister, Mia."

"Sister? So you did have family out there, after all."

"So I did. And I'm damn happy about it." I grin. It doesn't get old. "Kenny saved my ass a number of times in Savannah. And I thought he gave himself up so Carley and I could get out of there."

"Yeah, speaking of which, how'd you get out of there? You were surrounded. There was no way out of there, so I have no clue how you got out of that, unscathed no less." My wife asks as Kenny leads us toward a fire and a couple couches.

"Well, I could bore you with all the details, but long story short, I got lucky. Well, lucky ain't the half of it. I couldn't have been luckier. Was on my own for a while after that. It felt like years, but it's only been, what, two years? But fortunately, I met Sarita as I was about to hit my breaking point. She helped bring me back down and for that, I'm grateful. Gosh, I'm grateful for so much. It's great to have you back." Sarita sits down next to us and kisses Kenny on the cheek.

"You guys catching up?" she asks.

"Guys, this is my girl, Sarita. Sarita, this is Ian, his fiancee, Carley."

"Wife, actually. We got hitched." I grin. He smiles and nods.

"Right. His wife, Carley, his little sister, Mia, and that's Clementine. Everyone but Mia was part of the Savannah group that got separated."

"Nice to meet you all. Kenny has said some very nice things about you all. Ian, he said you used to play professional football?"

"Well, yeah. I never actually got to play, but I was a rookie with the Atlanta Falcons when this started."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. But at least you're alive and safe now."

"Yeah, at least." I shrug and give a half smile, half frown. Of course I'm happy to be alive, but it's still shitty to think about everything. I'd be in my third season at this point. Hopefully a contract extension was to be in order. Maybe I'd be a Falcon for life. That woulda been cool.

I sit by the fire with Carley, cuddling with her and rubbing my knee. The rest does help but it still feels kinda tender. But Walter's voice raises me from my seat in an instant. "Dinner is ready everyone!"

I sit down at a table, next to Walter and across from Kenny and Sarita, to a bowl of beans and some peaches. Not exactly my first choice, but since this started, its the closest thing to a proper meal I've had. And with Walter's hospitality, I will never complain.

"So, Luke's the one in charge? Do ya trust him?" He asks me as I dig into my food.

I nod. "He's a good guy. I'd trust him with just about anything. He helped keep Mia safe, so he's good in my book."

"I see. So that big guy, Alvin? He said you guys are on the run. Some guys are after you. What's the deal with that?"

"I'll be honest. I'm not really sure. I know the man they're talking about. Older man named Carver. Bit of a creepy guy. But they say he's some cutthroat asshole who'll kill for what he wants without question. We've been running from him for a week, but I'm not sure he's even coming after us."

"Well regardless, you don't gotta worry about him anymore. If they're going tomorrow like they said, you can stay here as long as you like." He suggests, but I cough up the food in my mouth at the suggestion.

I sigh and frown, knowing I can't, "Kenny, I can't just leave them. And besides, Carver knows who I am. I got a feeling he knows that I'm with them. I gotta stick with them, man. I can't let you get involved with this. It ain't fair to any of you that we come into your place and drag you into our problems. If they're leaving in the morning, I gotta stay with them."

Kenny frowns at my rejection of his offer, but I offer a bit of consolation. "If it means anything, I would've hands down accepted your offer if we weren't being chased. This isn't an easy decision, but it'll be the better one for you guys. If by some miracle, this situation gets handled with, and the offer is still on the table, I'll gladly reconsider."

"Offer's always on the table, kid. You do you. Do what you gotta do. I get it." Kenny gives me a warm smile and I return it. With one last gulp, I swallow down the last of my beans, and place my dish in the sink, along with several others.

Kenny and Luke and Nick start squabbling over something. Kenny mentions something called Wellington, and suddenly a whole political debate is sparked over it.

"I'm telling you guys, Wellington is the solution. There's fresh water, plenty of land, and cold-ass winters. It'll slow the walkers down."

"This guy's full of it. He knows nothing about this place. We don't even know if it's real." Nick counters.

I patiently watch from the sidelines, listening to Kenny's claims about this magical place called Wellington way up north in Michigan. I know one thing about Michigan, it gets cold in the winter. So maybe Kenny's claims have some merit, but who really knows? I'm interrupted in my own thoughts by Kenny jutting me in.

"Ian, you used to play football. Did you guys ever go up to Michigan at any time?"

"We played Michigan State once. We beat them in the Capital One Bowl in 2009. I had a torn ACL and couldn't play, but we beat 'em. But that game was in Florida. So, to answer your question, no, I haven't been to Michigan myself. I just know it gets cold as hell there in the winter."

"Exactly. That'll slow the walkers down. Makes them easier to deal with." Kenny and the others continue to debate Wellington, but I decide to excuse myself for some air.

Despite my southern roots, I like the cold sometimes. The feeling of a cold breeze is sometimes refreshing. I've only seen snow one time in my life, during a trip to Boston when I was a kid, and I remember being fascinated by it. That, and throwing countless snowballs at little Mick. This is not too much different. A little too warm for snow, but plenty cold enough to be cold. The wind starting to pick up, maybe a storm coming.

"Matthew likes coming out here too," Walter joins me and the two of us sit on chairs in a small patio. "Thinking, talking about life, even just taking in the view."

"I just needed some air. I really hate having to be on the divide. Cause I owe Kenny everything, but I also owe my guys everything. Hell, Alvin and Rebecca saved my sister's life at the start of this shit. I didn't know she was alive until a week and a half ago. I can't just leave them. And then this guy, Carver, that may be following us. I don't know what to do, man."

Walter puts a hand on my shoulder in support. "When I met Matthew, I didn't really know what to think. I was raised in very Catholic household, but Matthew and I developed an emotional bond that went past what I was taught. I made a decision to be happy with myself, and it's up to you to do the same here. Not necessarily with homosexuality, but you need to make a decision and stick with it. It's not going to be easy. It won't be smooth. But you need to be confident with whatever you pick. You really can't go wrong with either decision. So you just have to decide which you see as more important."

I smile, but he probably can't see it in the dark all that well. "Thanks. Really. I don't know if that made the decision-making any easier, but you definitely helped me think about it."

"Anytime, son."

"Hey fellas. What're you up to?" I hear Kenny's voice behind us.

"Oh, Ian and I were just talking about politics." Why would Walter lie about that? That's weird. "Kenny, being from Florida, you'd know a thing or two about that wouldn't you?"

"Man don't even get me started on that shit. One advantage of living in the apocalypse is not having to deal with that shit no more." He hands me a glass bottle of lukewarm beer and we clink bottles. Haven't had beer since the Bud Light back at the motor inn ran dry.

"Gentlemen, this world has gone to shit. And we are gonna fix it. One day at a time. There's still good in this world of evil. It's our job to show that to the rest of the world."

"Nice words, Walter." I compliment his little speech.

"Hey, I'm gonna check the windows before this storm starts. Can you fellas help?" Kenny starts walking before we can even nod our heads. Guess so. We turn out back to find a scrawny woman, with red hair, looking into the cabin. What she's looking for, well, I have a couple assumptions.

"Excuse me, miss?" Walter asks her, and she jumps back a little, startled.

"Please, do you have any food?" She shakily asks.

"Are you ok?"

"Please, I saw the house and… I have a family. We're starving."

"Of course why don't you come in Miss…."

"Bonnie."

"I don't like this, man" Kenny whispers to me.

"You and me both. This seems a little off. But let's see where it goes." I respond, keeping my eyes on the woman.

"If we get shot cause of it, I'm coming for you in hell."

"Noted."

Minutes later, Walter comes out with a box of food for Bonnie and her family. Plenty of food. More than I would expect anyone to give away, frankly. But, Walter's a generous guy. Can't say I blame him for helping. Anyways, she goes on our way and we're not shot, so I guess it could've gone worse. I down the rest of my beer and walk inside to get ready for bed. With all that's happened today, and after all that's happened this past week, I might just sleep for a couple days. I go to where Carley's sleeping, and I snuggle up next to her. Her light snoring and the wind slowly picking up as the storm comes in reach my ears, creating a rather peaceful combination. The whirring noise of the windmill slowly gets louder and faster, but that can't be an issue, right?

Despite me falling asleep, it was an issue, actually. The commotion of people in a frenzy, trying to turn it off wakes me before I'm too deep into my sleep, it was going too fast, and the faster it went, the louder it got, thus attracting more walkers.

So, a group worked on turning off the windmill, and another kept watch for walkers. I was put on the lookout group. I don't have much of an issue with that, not knowing much about electricity and generators. But as Kenny inspects the windmill, a booming noise behind us. Like a rifle shot from a distance. But it's actually a transformer. Kenny and Luke go to fix it, leaving the rest of us to look at it. Someone goes in and looks at it. I'm not sure. I was more fixated on the potential walkers from the treeline.

"I see movement, in the trees." Carlos motions towards the treeline, where sure enough, a walker come stumbling at us. Actually, a few.

"Let's take care of them." I tell him as the whirring down of the windmill indicates that whoever was working on it, stopped it.

"We don't have much ammo." He warns.

"Then make it count. Try to get back to the lodge." I start popping shots with the glocke, downing the walkers one by one and soon enough, so is everyone else. Dozens of walkers, soon dead at the ground, but our ammo was starting to run out, and it seemed like there was still a surplus of walkers.

I was the first to hear the damned click noise. "Fuck! I'm out."

"Get to the Lodge! Hurry!" Carlos yells as he struggles with a walkers before taking it down with a headshot. I run over to the front of the lodge, where my wife runs out, holding my 700. She tosses it to me, and in the pale moonlight, I pop one more walker in the chaos.

Just as it seems we're about to be overrun, Some popping comes from the treeline. Automatic Gunfire. The remaining walkers are dealt with before I see who is helping us. Brown jacket, Bushy mustache, and a shiteating grin on his face.

Bill Carver

He found us. Along with him, Bonnie. Of fucking course she is. She tricked us.

"Howdy folks," He says with that stupid grin. We're surrounded. His men point Ak-47 rifles at us. He's won. We're caught. "Where's Rebecca?" He asks Carlos. To that, he spits in Carver's face. In response to that, Carver punches him in the jaw. One shot, knocks him out. He motions us inside and his goons goad us in like some cattle.

Those of us they have, we're tied up immediately. Wrists bound and then completely tied up. Carley comes down with her hands up. She's tied up and put next to me.

"Thanks for not trying anything. I don't think I could deal with another Lilly incident." I whisper to her.

"Figured that was the better idea. Getting shot is not something I want to have to do twice." She whispers back, a little louder.

"Hey. Shut the hell up." One of his goons walks up to us. Tall, scrawny bastard. Heavy Southern accent. Patchy beard and everything.

"Fuck you. Go fuck your cousin or something, you white trash hick." My wife snaps back. God damn. I did not expect that out of her.

He grabs her by the throat and grins, with a slight chuckle. "Feisty one, ain't you. Maybe I'll fuck you, instead, baby. Yeah look at those titties. Oh boy those are nice. And those lips. God damn. I bet you give the best blowjobs. Yeah, I think I will fuck you." This asshole has said two things to my wife, and he's already waaaaaay crossed the line.

"Keep your hands off my wife, you slimey son of a bitch." I growl.

"You're her husband? You're hittin' that? Well ok then." I take a swift kick to the ribs and I get the wind knocked out of me. "I don't give a damn. Hell, maybe I'll do her more then." He kicks me in the ribs again. And again. And again.

"Troy. Cut the shit, and find the others. Stop fucking around." Carver yells at him from across the room. He timidly agrees and starts searching.

"Troy better be careful before he winds up with a bullet in his brain. Or my boot on his neck." I whisper to my wife again.

"I wouldn't mind." She agrees.

Carver walks down the line of us until he reaches the end, pulling Carlos up and putting him to the middle of the room. With a punch to the gut, Carlos goes down again and Carver stands over him menacingly.

"I'm only gonna ask you this once," he says, "Where is Rebecca?"

"Fuck you" He mutters in defiance. Carver grabs his wrist, not fucking around, and snaps his finger, like a twig. Carlos and Sarah both cry out at his pain, and Carver sends an explicit message to Rebecca, wherever she's hiding.

"Rebecca, our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety. I know you're out there. And Alvin. And Luke. And the girl. Clementine, I wanna say? Clementine "Madsen"? C'mon Ian, you gotta do better than that. How dumb do you think I am?"

"Fuck" I sigh. He knew. He knew all along. God damn it.

"This'll all be over quickly if you play nice, and show your faces." He snaps another one of Carlos's fingers.

"God damn it! Shoot him! Someone just shoot him!" Carlos yells through his pain as Carver puts a blade to his throat.

A third snap, and Carlos yells even louder. "Last warning. Come out, or I'll kill this son of a bitch."

The creaking of stairs above me indicates that Alvin and Rebecca are done testing him. He finally won. Carver was playing mind games and he beat us. But wait. Where's Clem?

 **CRACK**

A rifle shot comes through the window, and one of Carver's men goes down for good. Son of a bitch. It's Kenny.

Not to be outdone. Carver grabs Walter and walks him out. Revolver drawn, he shoves Walt to the ground and executes him. His brains and blood splatters on the floor but all I can do is stare at the gruesome sight before me.

"Walter no!" My wife cries out. But it's no use, he's dead. Bullet in the head.

"That's for killing my man!" Carver yells out to Kenny. "Now I didn't want to do this, but you're leaving me no choice. So here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna march one of your friends out here, and put a bullet in the back of their head. Or you can give up now. Your choice." Another rifle shot narrowly misses Carver's head, finding its home in a pillar of wood.

"Damn it Kenny! Stop!" I yell out to him. But another rifle shot rings out, barely missing Carver's head once again, so he looks for his next victim. He stops in front of me with a devilish smile on his face. Guess that's me.

"Ian Sullivan. Brother of Mia Sullivan. College football standout for the Georgia Bulldogs. Drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 2010, and proposed to his girlfriend on national television like a pompous douchebag." He pulls me up by the collar of my jacket and I'm face to face with him, once again. This time, a .44 Magnum is pointed at my temple. One shot from that could blow my head clean off.

"Do it. Do it motherfucker. I fuckin' dare you." I smirk at him. Something. Just something tells me he's bluffing. I don't know what it is. Just my gut feeling.

"Kenny Stop!" My wife says through the tears. "Don't kill him! Don't!"

He walks me out, just as he did with Walter. Right out in the open. This was clearly a scare tactic. He keeps me upright, as a meat shield. He doesn't want me dead, he wants Kenny to give himself up.

Kenny comes out from his position, hands raised with rifle in hand, surrendering. Next to him, an unarmed Clementine. Now, Carver has all of us. Well, except Luke. But who knows where Luke is. Bonnie kicks open the door and points her AK-47 at Kenny and Clem, motioning for them to join us.

"Where's Luke?" Carver asks us, slowly pacing down the line. We look at each other, but no one knows, so we remain silent. "Finally cut and run, eh? Why am I not surprised? I warned you. I warned you not to follow him. And look where he's led you. But you're safe now. We're going home. As a family." He smiles toward Rebecca.

"Round 'em up. We're heading back to camp."


	22. Captured

Chapter 22 - Captured

" _We've got some familiar faces back with us tonight. Now, I understand some of you are confused as to why we'd bring these people back when they left us, as they did. It might not all come at once, but time will heal these wounds, so be patient with them until it does, and take solace in knowing that they're here to make our home a better place. All these feelings you have of anger, betrayal, hate, they're all valid. No one needs to forget what the did. But, we do have to find it in our hearts to forgive them. As many of you know, a large herd of walkers has gathered just south of us. With any luck, it'll miss us and just pass by. But rest assured, if it does turn our way, it's nothing we can't handle. So, we have ample concerns about the need for expansion, and we have taken consideration for those, but nonetheless, the expansion project is moving forward. And with the added manpower joining us this evening, I have no doubt that we will continue to grow and prosper. It is no longer enough to survive. It is our obligation to make this community a beacon of hope. To provide a light. A bright light. Bright enough to shine in all this darkness. So that is what we'll do. Carver out."_

Carver's last line of substance in his little speech leaves me with chills. A beacon of hope. If Carver's actions define what he wants as a beacon of hope for society, maybe we're better off in the zombie apocalypse.

Bonnie, Troy, and a big black woman named Tavia, Carver's second in command, lead us out to an outdoor section of Howe's Hardware Store, Carver's community and "beacon of hope for the new world".

"Y'all better get some rest, cause there ain't gonna be much tomorrow. You're gonna be workin' hard." Troy tells us as he unties my bindings.

"That's for you." Bonnie points to a cot for Rebecca. Which she scoffs at.

"Fuckin' Bill. Keeps me out in the cold, but at least I'm comfortable." She shakes her head.

An older man walks up to us, missing his left arm. Despite this, he seems to be in good spirits.

"Hey guys" He says with a thick middle eastern accent. He takes an opportunity to smile at all of us.

"Reggie!" Rebecca hugs the man. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. What did they do to you?" She looks at his lack of an arm.

"This could've been a lot worse, trust me. I'm lucky to be alive."

"It's my fault." Nick confesses, but Reggie denies this.

"No, it's really not. I would tell you if it was. This all happened well after you guys left. I would say it's nice to see you, but… you know."

"So what happened to your arm then, if you don't mind me asking?" I keep staring. I know it's disrespectful, but your first time seeing someone missing an appendage, it's kinda hard not to.

"Well," he sighs, "they have me working outside. A lurker snuck up on me and got me while I was hammering something. Luckily, they took the arm off quick, saved my life." I get a flashback to Lee in Savannah. I still think he would've died if we cut his arm off, but still.

"Jesus, man. That's awful." I say quietly with a frown, but he dismisses this, too, staying cheery.

"No, no. I'm happy to be alive. I don't believe I got your name."

"Ian. And this is my wife, Carley." I nod behind me.

"Pleasure to meet the both of you."

"Ian's my brother, Reggie." Mia informs him as she hugs him. His face showing genuine surprise and happiness.

"Is that so? You're the football player? Mia has said plenty of good things about you, but she never thought you were alive."

"Alvin," Tavia interrupts us, "Carver wants you in his office."

"What? Why?" He responds.

"Don't make this difficult. It's too late for that." She snaps back. The two of them leave without saying another word, but Rebecca shows clear discomfort with this.

"Hey." I whisper to her. "If he was gonna do something, he'd have done it by now." She doesn't say anything back, but sighs a little and goes to her cot. Reggie continues to introduce himself when someone from the other side of the section yells to us with a yawn.

"Can you guys save it until the morning?" I look over to see a tall black man laying down on a rug with a small pillow, trying to get some sleep.

"Sorry about that, Mike!" He apologizes before turning back to us. "Ok that's Mike. He's a bit of a dick when he's tired, but he saved my life, so I put up with that shit. Bill put him to work outside the wall with me."

"So what exactly is this? Is it like a labor camp or something? 'Work will set you free' sorta thing?" I ask Reggie, observing the area. I see another woman, tall, short haircut, checking us out. Seems like she's sizing us up, too. Weird.

"No no no. Not like that. Carver will make you work, but once you've proven to be an asset, he comes to appreciate you and he embraces you as a member of the community. It's really not that bad here. I mean where else are you going to the food we have here. We have the canned stuff and with the greenhouses we have, we have fresh stuff, too. The building is getting more and more secure all the time. And they've even got the solar panels working. When was the last time you had electricity, eh?"

"The place your buddy Carver snatched us from had a wind turbine. So, I'd say a few hours ago, actually."

"Well, it's not a competition. I'm just saying, it's not as bad as you think. We're building something great here, guys. A real community. Bill is making it happen. Look, I've made mistakes, and he's forgiven me."

"That doesn't make up for what he's done, Reggie." Rebecca tells him.

"She's right, man. He's a madman. He executed one of our people in cold blood. He didn't even do anything. Just shot him in the head for no reason. He's a crazy son of a bitch." I agree with Rebecca. What I say makes him freeze for a moment, but still, he defends this place.

"Look, I'm really close to being let back into the group. Once that happens, I can do a lot more to help you guys be more comfortable. Just please, don't mess things up for me. I've worked really hard to get to this point. Please, do not try to cause any trouble?"

"Fine. We'll keep you out of trouble."

"Thank you. It means a lot."

The group dissolves to go their separate ways. Leaving me, Kenny, and Mia. Carley and a few others go find a place to sleep. Rebecca, Sarita, and Reggie go to sit by a fire.

"Fuck that guy." Kenny says to me. "I don't think we can trust him. Sounds way too buddy-buddy with Carver."

"I hear you. But we can't be starting trouble. Not yet at least. Let's just feel the place out, see what's going on. I'm all for shooting our way out of here eventually."

"Are you guys crazy? He'll kill us all." My sister tells us.

"He might kill us all regardless Mia. We're literally sitting ducks here. I'm not saying we have to do anything right away, but at some point, we may have to shoot our way outta here."

"Look, just be careful, ok? I already thought I lost you once. I don't wanna go through with that again."

I give her a warm smile and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know baby sis. I'll be good."

The gates come up and that dickweed Troy walks out with Carlos at his side. Carlos's fingers are bandaged up and likely realigned again. Sarah jumps up and runs to her dad, giving him a big hug.

"All right go the fuck to sleep. All of you. I'm shooting the first one of you I see wanderin' around before sun-up." Troy tells us before walking off.

"Yeah. You tell 'em big man. You're a real big man, ain't you? How does it feel being Carver's whore?" I taunt him, with a massive grin on my face. Fully expecting a fist to the face. He turns around, and starts walking towards me. I fully expect a punch to the jaw or the gut.

"What was that? You say something to me, asshole?" He gets in my face.

"Did I stutter? How. Does. It. Feel. Being. Carver's. Whore, Asshole?" I keep a cocky smirk on my face, and his fist meets my gut and I go down. Hard.

"You're lucky Bill likes you so much. Cause I should kill you right now to make an example for everyone. Maybe I will after I fuck your wife."

I cough a few times, a small amount of blood the last time. "You shoulda killed me when you had the chance, bitch."

"I intend to. Don't you worry." He cheekily walks away while I'm still on the ground, closing the gate and killing the lights.

"Ian, that's the kind of shit I am talking about. Picking fights with Troy doesn't help either of us." Reggie scolds me. "Seriously. You have no clue how hard it's been to get back on Carver's good side. Don't fuck this up for me."

"I won't fuck anything up for you. Troy's a pussy. He won't do shit."

I lie down next to Carley. I thought she was asleep, but it turns out she's been awake the whole time.

"So Troy got you again?" My wife asks me as I kiss her on the cheek.

"More or less. But I think I struck a nerve with him. I'm not crazy about him beating me up. But I know he's not gonna do anything more than that. Apparently Carver wants me alive."

"So that's why he didn't kill you at the lodge." she remarks.

"Maybe. But all I know is I won't die here as long as Carver's in charge. I don't know what he has in mind, but for now, I'm good."

"What do you think he's gonna do?"

"I don't know. But I'm curious to find out."

"Me too. Just stay safe, handsome."

"You too beautiful." I give her a nice kiss on the lips before Mike sends some more pleasantries our way.

"Can you guys shut the fuck up? I'm trying to sleep." Carley and I giggle a bit before snuggling off to sleep.

"Wake up" I wake up to the familiar feeling of Troy's boot hitting my ribcage.

"And good morning to you too, beautiful" I stir and roll up from the cold ground I slept on. Looking back at Troy's dumb scowl, I can't help but smile. This man hates my guts.

"Bill's gonna have a word. And get that look off your face." I walk towards everyone else, purposely keeping the same look on my face just to piss him off. As I reach the group, the gates open again, and Carver steps out.

"There's been increased walker activity along the fence, so be mindful when outside the walls. The herd's moved a little closer to us as of this morning, but that still doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit. Know we're monitoring the situation. Now, there are some folks that might be sore at how things happened, and how things went. Well that's all in the past now. Some of you are new to our community. Some of you are members who went astray. But know that you can find redemption here, forgiveness, by proving your worth through what will undoubtedly be hard work. Reggie, you're nearly back in. Keep following the path and you'll be welcomed back with open arms."

I hear Sarah whisper something to Clementine and Carver does, too, pausing his talk for a moment to stare down Sarah before resuming.

But Sarah doesn't quite get it. She keeps talking to Clem. This time, there is no staredown. Instead, he cuts right to the point.

"Carlos! Your child seems to be in need of correction."

"I'm sorry… I- Sarah. Apologize to Mr. Carver."

"I'm sorry, sir." She says quietly, looking down, but Carver isn't having it.

"No no, that ain't gonna cut it. I can't have this kinda behavior on day one of your reform. You discipline her now, Carlos." He growls, pointing at him. "One good smack across the mouth oughta do it. It'll make her think twice about opening it next time. Go on. We'll wait."

Carlos hesitates, as any parent should. No one should have to hit their child in the face. And yet here we are. A madman forcing him to. What the fuck is wrong with this guy?

"Come on. Do it. And not some pansy shit either. A good hard strike across the face. Otherwise, Troy here will do it for you. And I don't think you want that either." I take a glance at Troy, and the sick fuck is smirking at the opportunity.

Accepting that he has to do this, Carlos walks to his daughter, whose face is that of sheer terror. With a sigh, he winds back, and hits her. Square in the face. Despite this, we stay silent. Staring in horror at what we just saw. Even Sarah, who just took a slap to the face from her father, weeps silently out of fear of more punishment.

Carlos kneels down to hug her, but Carver stops him.

"No. You're not coddling that girl anymore. Let her sit there and think about what she's done. Marcus, get Carlos to his post. Everyone else, get to work." Carver walks off to his office, and Troy takes the opportunity to stare back at me one last time. With a smirk, he slaps my wife's ass hard. She yelps, and slaps him hard in the face. I start walking over to beat him up, but, as though it were in slow motion, I see him ball up his left fist and punch my wife, right in the eye. Her body hits the ground and goes out cold, and I run up to him. Diving for his gut, hitting him with my shoulder and tackling him like a linebacker, I start going to town on him. Left hook. Right hook. Left. Right. Left. Right.

"Hey. HEY. STOP!" Tavia points her rifle at me, but Carver lowers it.

"No. Let him continue."

"Bill-"

"Quiet. Continue."

"Gladly." I mutter to myself before getting back to work on Troy's face. Battered and bruised, I still see him open his eye a little bit. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. One more right, and a tooth flies out and lands some 8 or 10 feet away. I could stop here, but my arms keep throwing punches, as though they had a mind of their own.

Punches continue for maybe a few more minutes or so, until someone finally pulls me away. Mia.

"Ian. That's enough. You made your point." My sister continues to hold me back, even though my desire to make sure I finished the job burns, I submit to my sister and settle down.

"Alright he's done. Back to work everyone. Except you, Sullivan. I want you in my office. And get his wife to the infirmary. Get her checked out." He starts walking towards what I assume to be his office. Tavia points her gun at me to lead me to his office, but I take a moment to admire my work with Troy. His unresponsive body lays flat on the ground. Bruises aplenty, a tooth or two missing, and at least out cold, I smile, and land a drop of spit right on his forehead.

"I said don't touch my wife" I smirk as Tavia pushes me towards his office.

I open the door to a large office with an overview of the entire camp. Immediately to my left, Alvin's body, slumped over in a chair. Bloodied and bruised, the field day I had on Troy pales in comparison.

"Jesus Christ" I mutter under my breath. "What the fuck….. Alvin, you good?"

"He passed out hours ago. He can't hear anything."

"You're a madman. You know that, right?"

"Hey listen. We got history, you understand? There were some things we need to work out."

"That's one way of putting things, I guess."

"Well let's cut the shit and get to the point, why I brought you up here."

"You're gonna beat the hell outta me, like I beat your man?"

"No. Actually quite the contrary. You see, Troy has the right idea sometimes, but he's actually a complete shithead most of the time. Tavia may be my second in command but she usually stays in the camp, so Troy acts as my second in command when I'm out. But, like I said, he's a weak-minded shithead. And if there's one kind of man I hate, it's one that is weak-minded. But you, even in your current situation, you still stood up to him, and beat the holy hell out of him. Hell, you may have KILLED him. You don't seem like the guy to kill many people, much less with your bare hands. But, you do seem like the kind of person who would kill someone who posed a threat. Am I in the ballpark?"

"In a heartbeat. I have killed and I will kill again. Anyone who is a threat to my people, I would gladly put that son of a bitch down." I respond, not breaking his gaze.

"I thought so. Because you care about the wellbeing of your group. You're not afraid to kill someone if it means keeping your people safe. Maybe, you wouldn't have an issue with killing one of your own if it meant for the good of the group." I flash him a look of confusion, but he continues. "You may not believe it now, but you and I, we're of a like mind. You know how I found out about this? Last night at the lodge. You had a gun pointed at your head, and you weren't scared. Hell, you wanted it. You dared me to. At that point, I decided to bluff, instead of kill you. I truly believe you called my bluff before I even bluffed. You looked death in the face and told it to go fuck itself. When it got closer you said it even louder. When you beat Troy for groping your wife and hitting her? I was convinced. You are a strong-minded individual. You are the kind of man that should be leading communities like this. You and I, we're not as different as you think."

"I wouldn't have killed an innocent man just for the fuck of it!" I fire back at him. But he just sits there and smirks.

"You see, your friend that I killed, he was weak-minded. He was too generous. I saw how much he gave to Bonnie, and knew he would not fit in to my community. I also know your friend Kenny was out there shooting at me. So, to set an example, I killed him. Killing one for the safety and benefit of many is a part of survival. It is one of the many tough decisions that a weak-minded person, like your friend Walter, wouldn't have been able to make. But you yourself said you would. You'd kill a threat to your group. Did you ever think about the internal threats? No, probably not. But in the end, it's all the same. Do you get what I'm saying?"

I remain silent for a minute. Contemplating what he's said. Maybe he has a point. But, I wouldn't kill someone like Walter, especially in that manner. Or… would I? In those circumstances? No. I wouldn't let myself get into that situation in the first place.

"I know I'm right. Cause you're thinking. You know I'm right, but you're trying to justify it. But in reality, there's no need to justify it. People like us, we are the strong. And it is our job to shepherd the weak, lead them to safety. So that's what I want to do. I want to be your mentor, kid. Let me teach you how to run a tight ship. Let me teach you how to use your strength and build a community better than anyone could imagine." He smiles, yet his glare pierces through me.

"You sick son of a bitch. You and I are not the same. I only kill people who wrong me or my people in a way that absolutely calls for it. Hell, someone in our group shot Carley and I didn't kill her shooter for it. And another guy gave supplies to a group that attacked us, and I didn't kill him either. But you know what? I wish that Kenny killed you. I wish he put a bullet right between your eyes. But, if it takes me the rest of my life, I will see to it that I will kill you. And I hope I killed Troy. That pervy bastard deserves to burn in hell, and it would be the greatest of pleasures to me if I was the reason both you assholes burn. I'd give my life to end you right here, right now."

"That's exactly what I've been saying. You have the balls to say that, to my face, when those others wouldn't dare think it. We're a lot more alike than you think. You know this, but you're not comfortable with it yet. So I ain't gonna kill you. I won't kill your wife. Hell, I won't even kill your sister. Because I want to develop you into the next great leader."

" _Bill? You there?"_ Tavia's voice comes through on the walkie.

"What is it?" He responds.

" _Troy's dead. That kid killed him. What do you want to do with the body?"_

"Make sure he won't come back and leave him to the lurkers. I have a new protege now, anyways." He flashes me a vicious smile.

" _Will do. Tavia out."_ The line cuts.

"One down. One to go." I smirk and cross my arms.

"Get the hell out of my office." I walk out like one cocky motherfucker.


	23. A Plan So Crazy

Chapter 23 - A Plan So Crazy

Carlos motions to me as I walk out of the office. I quickly check for any of Carver's people, before sneaking over to him.

"What's up?"

"Do you want to see Carley? She's conscious again."

"Lead the way."

He brings me down a hallway, not far from Carver's office.

"You know you killed Troy, right?"

"I'm aware."

"What did Carver tell you?"

"He sees something in me. He says I'm a strong-minded person, that I should be in charge of a community, just like he is. He wants me to be his protege."

"His protege?" He looks at me with shock. "What do you mean?"

"He wants to be my mentor. He wants to teach me how to lead a community so I can one day lead my own."

"What did you say?"

"I told him to go fuck himself. I don't mind the idea of being in charge but I'm damn well not doing it his way. What he made you do to Sarah, that was fucked up, man. No one that has that happen should be in any position of power."

"Believe me, Carver used to be reasonable. At one point, he was actually a decent man." He explains. "This place held up a lot better. But one day, Carver decided that he wanted to not only rebuild the world, but he wanted to do it in his image. He wanted to be the world's savior, leading millions, either willingly or as slaves, it didn't matter. As long as he was in charge and things were going as how he wanted, he didn't care about anything. All he wanted was power. At that point, we knew we couldn't stay. So that's why we left."

"And that's what Carver has in mind for me?"

"You're just a pawn in Carver's game." He tells me. "He may have taken a shining to you, but in the end, you only serve as a means for Carver to get what he wants." He opens a door and leads the way. "Trust me, Carver is not a man you should trust or believe."

"I didn't trust the bastard from the moment I met him." I respond.

Finally, there she is. My wife, laying on a bed with her eyes closed in a dimly lit room.

"Carley," he tells her. "Ian's here. Are you awake?"

She slowly smiles and turns towards me. Her right eye is black and blue, but even as such, her eyes still light up when she sees me. I hug her and kneel down next to her bed.

"How're you feeling, baby?" I ask her, stroking her hair lightly.

"My head's killing me and I'm sure I'm an eyesore with this black eye. But otherwise, I'm feeling alright." She says with a light giggle.

"Eyesore? You kidding? You're just as beautiful as the day I met you. I just wish you coulda seen what I did to Troy."

"I heard what you did. Normally I'd be horrified to hear my husband murdered a man in cold blood, but I think I'll let this one slide." She says with a smile. "Frankly, I'm a little more worried what Carver has in mind for you." But I shake my head.

"Carver says I have immunity for the time being. So do you, and so does Mia. Carver said that neither he, nor anyone of his people will kill us. He wants me to become a leader like him at some point. Said something about me being strong-minded, shit like that."

"Do you trust him?"

"Of course not. Son of a bitch is trying to use me and to turn me against my own. It ain't happening."

"Good. Good." She says, nodding. "I know you're better than that."

Carlos taps my shoulder and nods to the door. "She has a mild concussion, so she needs rest. You should wrap it up soon."

I nod to Carlos. "I guess that's my cue to leave. I'll talk to you in a bit babe." I leave her with a hug and kiss. I make my way back to the outdoor area to find Kenny, Rebecca, and some others sitting around a fire.

"I'm just saying, we need to get Luke a radio and wait for an opening." Rebecca says impatiently to Kenny.

"Luke is in no position to help us. And you wanna put our fate into that guy's hands? Not happening." Kenny fires back.

"Hold up, what's going on?" I interject. Sounds like they're trying to form an escape plan.

"Rebecca and Kenny are thinking of a way out of here. Kenny thinks we should attract the herd here and use the commotion to get out of here. Rebecca thinks we should get Luke involved and he can help us get an opening from the outside." Mike explains to me.

"Wait, Luke's here?" I look at everyone nodding back to me.

"Yeah. He's here. He's hiding out in the expansion." Kenny tells me.

"Well shit then. You know, the two plans aren't exactly mutually exclusive. We can have both. Or, aspects of both at least. If Luke's on the outside, then we can at least know when they're coming and where they're coming from. When the herd comes, we can use the commotion to sneak out, or shoot out. If we can find their armory, we could be set on weapons and ammo if we come across any resistance."

Kenny nods and smiles wide. "I can get behind that, kid. You're a fuckin' innovator. So, we get Luke a radio, he keeps us posted on the movement. We fire up the PA thing, and attract the herd here. The walkers roll over this place, we get some guns, and shoot our way out."

"Sounds like a plan then."

Rebecca shakes her head. "You guys aren't thinking this through. We can't just stroll through a herd of walkers. That alone is enough to tell me this plan isn't gonna work." Silence from me and Kenny. Wow. We really did not think that last part through.

But, someone clears their throat from behind us. The woman from the first night. She finally has something to say. "Actually, I do it all the time."

More silence. All of us look at each other, like we heard the craziest thing we'd ever heard in our lives. Chances are, a lot of us just did.

"First words I ever hear you say, and it's some crazy bullshit." Mike breaks the silence, putting his thoughts bluntly.

"Well wait a second, Mike. What do you mean by that?" I ask the woman.

"When you rub their smell all over you, the walker guts, they don't see you. They can't tell you from one of them. You can walk right through them without them noticing, so long as you keep quiet and stay slow."

More silence. Everyone takes in what she just told us. It sounds crazy, but then again, don't hunters do the same thing sometimes? Maybe it makes more sense than we think.

"I don't know who's crazier, them or you." Rebecca is just as skeptical of this as she is our plan. Can't say I blame her.

"Trust me," she assures us, "I've walked through herds before. It works. You just have to keep calm, and make sure you're good and covered."

"She's right guys." Clementine of all people intervenes.

"What?" My jaw drops. Clem's done this?

"Lee figured it out back in Savannah. It's how we got out of the Marsh House. Lee cut one open and covered me and we walked right out, right in the middle of the hoard."

"Really?" I ask her and she nods. Good shit, Lee. Coming through even though he's long gone.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get these radios." Kenny says, getting up from his seat.

"We gotta figure out a way into the stockroom, where they keep them." Rebecca reminds us.

"I've got a plan for that too. Come on kid, we're gonna need you." The woman motions for Clementine to follow her, leading her to a ladder that's hanging from the roof and maybe 10 or 12 feet off the ground. "We need to get up there, and then someone needs to drop into the stockroom from one of the skylights. You can climb down from the boxes and ledges and then all you need to do is snatch a couple radios and climb back here." Sounds simple enough.

"That ladder's been broken a while. Unless they've changed it, it won't support much weight." Rebecca points out. So, that rules out literally all of us, barring Clem and Sarah. But I doubt Carlos would be too keen on this. So-

"Now or never" Clem shrugs and Kenny grins.

"Mike, why don't you boost her up to get that rope down." Mike does just that, until there's a little wench she can stand on, and then he starts pulling, slowly making Clementine rise until she grabs for the ladder and pulls herself onto it. From there, she pulls herself up the ladder, and over the ledge, out of view.

"And now, we wait." Kenny mutters and we go back to the fire.

 **30 Minutes Later**

Clem's finally back. Most of us had already retired to bed, but Mike stayed around to get Clem when she was done. The wait was killing us, and soon enough, most of us were fearing the worst. But, sure enough, she came back, flashing a cocky look as she shows us the radios.

"You little devil." Kenny chuckles at how well Clem did. Radios in hand, and the guards weren't any the wiser.

"Good shit Clem. Knew you could do it." I had my doubts, but she's got guts. I'll give her that."

"Get some rest guys." The woman, whose name I soon learned was Jane, tells us. I have no issue with that. None at all. We got a hell of a day ahead of us.

"Ian?" I hear my sister's voice.

"What's up, Mia?"

"What did Carver talk to you about?"

"He tried to turn me against you guys, trying to bring me up in his image. I told him to go to hell."

"Good. Last thing this world needs is another Bill Carver."

"Too right, sis." Too right, indeed.

Sunrise hits, and soon enough we're all huddled together, forming our plan. Someone needs to get Luke the radio. As so it turns out, after everyone is taken for their work assignments, Clementine is chosen to bring the radio out to him. Marcus, one of Carver's little pissants, comes out to take Me, Kenny, Mike, and Clementine to work, leading us out to the perimeter to work on the expansion.

"Hey. I need the kid and Sullivan. Take the other two, Marcus. I'll send them when I'm done with them." Bonnie tells Marcus. I look at her confused, but Marcus doesn't seem to have an issue.

"Oh. Ok Bonnie." Marcus releases us to the redhead that backstabbed us and got us into this mess. I haven't spoken to her since. But this mucks up our plan before we can even start it. Clem has the radio we need to get Luke, so now we can't get to Luke. What gives?

She leads us into a large room. To any gun nut, it seems like Heaven on Earth. The Howe's Armory is massive. Crates of ammo of all sorts and Shelves of rifles, handguns, shotguns, even some machine guns. These fuckers are ready for Armageddon.

"First off, I want to apologize to the both of you. Clem, you were right about Reggie. Bill killed him in cold blood." Wait. What? Reggie's dead? "He had no issue telling me. He was so matter-of-fact about it, like he'd pulled up a weed. It was one of those moments when your blood runs cold. Goose pimples up and down your arm. Cause it turns out the person you thought you knew was never there all along." she sighs and frowns, facing me. "And Ian, I betrayed your trust."

"You never had mine to begin with." I inform her with a snarl.

"Right. Well, I betrayed that man's trust. He was so willing to offer more food than I could carry for a family that didn't exist. And I got him killed for it. I want to apologize for that."

"It's gonna take more than an apology for this, Bonnie. You really fucked us over. I can't just forgive you for what happened to Walter."

"I know. And well, I didn't expect to be forgiven. That's why I want to offer you this. Whenever y'all break out of here, I will offer you the armory at your disposal. Whatever you want is yours. I know y'all are planning something. I overheard your friend Kenny talking about it last night." I sigh. She's onto us. But, she's not gonna tell Carver?

I nod. "Alright. Fine. You got a deal."

She smiles. "Thank you. Now, go get Luke that radio." I stand there, shocked. How much does she know?

Clem nods and walks out. For a few minutes, Bonnie and I stand in the armory, just silent.

"Carley's your wife?"

"Yeah."

"She's beautiful. You're a lucky man. I can tell you care about her a lot. No man woulda done that for a woman he didn't love." She mentions how I killed Troy.

"I would've done it 10 times over. Fuck that guy."

"I know. He tried to do things to me in the past. Carver put a stop to it, but he'd still look at me and I'd never feel comfortable. I'm kinda glad you killed him, if we're being honest."

"Like I said, I'd do it 10 times over."

" _Everyone. This is Carver. Come outside to where the prisoners stay. We have found there are some among the subordinates that do not seem to respect our… hospitality. We need to make an example out of them. Bring any of them you may find with you. Carver out."_ She sighs.

"Guess that's you. Come on."

Outside, there's Carver. Standing over…. Luke. He won. Again. He caught us. There's just no beating this guy. The plan's busted.

"Treachery. Deceit. Theft. This is how we're repaid for our trust?" He holds up a radio. One of the ones Clementine stole. Fuck.

"Whatever you guys were planning, it's over. It's done. You don't run away from your problems. You can't just up and leave when it gets tough, cause there's nowhere you can go where it ain't. Tough is all we got now. Get it through your fuckin skulls. Luke here, her can't help you know. You gotta help yourselves. Help me find the strength to forgive you. As a start, you can tell my where the other radio is." Fuck. Clem still has it, doesn't she?

"I'm gonna count to three. If I get to three, I think you folks know what's gonna happen. 1. 2." My heart rapidly beats, each pump feeling like a drum in my chest.

"I got it." Kenny confesses, slowly walking to Carver with it in hand, dropping it in his hand with a smirk. A moment passes by, and Carver punches him, right in the nose. Another one. And another one. Sarita runs out to help him, but she's detained by Carlos and Clementine. The thud of each punch and Kenny's weakening groans tell me he isn't gonna last much longer. Thankfully, Bonnie steps in.

"Bill! You gotta stop this. There's been a breach!" Bonnie tells Carver, who stops hitting Kenny and looks up at her.

With a final punch, he gets up, wiping the blood from his knuckles. "All right. Everyone with me. Bonnie, keep these folks in line. Maybe a night without supper will teach them some discipline." He says to her as he walks away.

No. I'm not letting him walk away. Not after what he just did. I run up behind up and I punch him with all the strength I can muster. He yells out in pain, and two of his guards hold me by my arms. He turns around, fiery look on his face as he reaches for his revolver, pointing it at my head once again.

"You know I ain't afraid of you. You don't scare me. Do it. Do-" I'm cut off by a gunshot and the horrified screams of my people behind me.

He walks up to me, smirking all the way. "One down. One to go." He whispers in my ear before walking off. They throw me down to the ground, and I turn around to the horror that was behind me.

"No. NO!"


	24. Numb

Chapter 24 - Numb

Numb. My body goes numb. The ringing from Carver's gunshot leaves me dazed but when I see the sight before me, it couldn't be clearer.

Mia's Dead.

He killed her.

Carver fucking killed her.

A single gunshot to the head, her eyes glazed upwards. Nothing. She's gone.

My baby sister. Dead. My last known living relative. Dead. Me and Carley, all that's left.

"No. NO! MIA!"

Carley walks over to me, crying. I can't cry. I just feel numb. But she pulls me into a hug, and the tears come out. But still, I just feel numb.

"He… He killed her. He killed her, Carley."

"I know, Ian. And we're gonna kill him. We're gonna make him suffer."

"Damn right we are." Rebecca says to me. "He will pay for what he did. Mia's death won't be for nothing."

"Carlos. Get Kenny up and moving as fast as possible. We leave tonight." Bonnie tells him. "And Ian?" I look at her sympathetic expression, "We're killing that bastard tonight, too." With fire in my eyes, I nod.

Tonight, we end him. I'm ending him.

 **Hours Later**

Night comes, and it's getting time. It's been hours, almost half a day, since Carver killed my sister. The numb feeling in me has been gone for a while now, and it's been replaced by overwhelming feelings of agony and anger. But even more, a bloodlust. A desire to kill Carver, redemption for my sister, for Reggie, for Walter, for everyone else who's been killed from his actions. I still intend to make good on my promise to him, even if it kills me.

Carlos is kneeled down by a cot, working feverishly to help Kenny. Carver did a number on his head, shattering his orbital bone, and maybe doing more inside. Kenny may not even make it. Sarita is by the fire, distraught by this, and Rebecca comforts and consoles her. Mike and Luke, just earlier talking with Bonnie, return to us with good news.

"We can get out of here tonight. We just gotta get the PA system going and she'll spring us out." Mike explains to us.

"Great." I respond with as much of a smile as I can muster.

"No, not great. It is way too risky tonight. That herd is massive. We can't chance that." Luke argues.

"Risky? Did you see what that son of a bitch just did to Kenny? Or Ian's sister? That's risky. Look, the plan works. Nothing needs to change. It's all set up. Carver's fucking crazy. Who know what he'll do next?" Mike fires back.

"Yeah, but now we're dealing with a guy beat to shit, Sarita's in no shape to do anything, and I'm pretty sure Ian's more bent on killing Carver than getting out of here. I think we should wait and bide our time. We can find an opening." Luke explains to the rest of us. But I shake my head.

"I want to get the hell out of here. But I'm killing Carver. One way or another. If I don't make it out, I'm seeing to it that he doesn't either."

Carlos walks over to us, grim expression on his face.

"His orbital's been crushed. I don't think there's much hope for the eye. I got him to as stable as I could, cleaned his eye, got some of the swelling down, bandaged it as best I could. But until he wakes up, we won't know if there's any damage to the brain."

Luke sighs, "Fuck. Maybe I'm playing Devil's Advocate here, but if y'all are serious about leaving, then maybe we need to consider leaving some people behind." This is met with some serious protest, especially Sarita.

"Kenny and I are only here because of you people, and now you intend to leave us behind."

"Absolutely not. We're not leaving anyone. We stay together." I tell Luke. "We're not leaving Kenny to rot, especially."

"Good…" I hear his voice away from the crowd. We all look up to see him hobbling over to us. "'Cause you won't have to." Sarita leaps from her seat to hug him. "Plan don't change. We leave tonight."

I walk up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. For the first time today, I smile. "You are one tough son of a bitch, old-timer."

He returns the smile and puts his hand on my shoulder as well. "Ian. Let's kill this fucker."

Amen to that, Kenny. Amen to that.

"So where do we go?" Kenny asks us. "A place to meet up if we get separated."

"Parker's Run?" Mike suggests. "Civil War site a few miles North. Huge tourist trap. There's signs all over. Just follow the road.

"We stopped there after we escaped the first time," Rebecca adds. "Luke and Carlos know where it is. Not that far."

"Sounds like a plan, then." Kenny confirms.

"So how do we get this PA system to go off? We never decided who's supposed to do that?" Luke asks us.

For some reason, all eyes go to Clementine, who shrugs and walks over to the winch once again. Once again, Mike boosts her up and once again, she goes over the ledge and out of view.

Minutes later, we hear it. A loud screech over the PA system and then the sound of a woman's voice, advertising something about Howe's and the 4th of July. Doesn't matter. Bonnie opens the gate and we're off.

She points out the armory and I run to it, grabbing guns, magazines, blades, anything I could use. I toss rifles to Luke and Kenny, and handguns to everyone else. After the hurry, I find myself with an AK-47, with as many magazines I could hold in my coat pockets, a glocke with more ammo than I could ever need, and a knife, smaller than my old machete but still effective nonetheless.

The group of us run into the stockroom, just to find Carver standing between us and the door out of here. He fires a few rounds into the air and we slow down, lowering our weapons as he points his at us.

"You wanna disrespect me? Fine. You wanna throw away the life I'm trying to build for us? Fuckin' fine. You wanna run off with this dogshit group of crippled fucks? Fine. Be my guest. But I will put a bullet in you and that baby before I let you leave here with my child." He threatens all of us, namely Rebecca.

Out of the corner of my eye, Clem leaps down from the shelves, right onto Carver's head, knocking him into Kenny's fist as Luke wrestles his rifle away. Finally, he points it at him.

"Come on Luke. This doesn't involve you."

"Clementine? Where's Alvin?" Rebecca asks of her husband, but Clem doesn't answer, just looking down. That's all the answer she needs to give. He's gone. But suddenly, her look of despair turns to rage. Pure rage.

"Kill him." She tells Luke.

"Rebecca, Rebecca sweetie. Oh my God. How did we get here, you and me? This is just a bit of a custody battle we got on our hands."

"Shoot him." She and Clementine say in unison. But, I interject.

"No. Don't." I interject, but the pop of Kenny's pistol follows, and Carver falls down with a loud groan, bullet wound in his leg. Kenny shoots his other leg, too, leaving Carver writhing in pain and grabbing at his knees. He walks to a shelf and picks up a crowbar and walks back, kicking him in the head once to soften him up.

"Go on and wait outside." He tells us. As some of us turn to go, Luke and Sarita voice their opinions.

"We don't need to do this, Kenny." She tells him.

"Yeah, look. There ain't one part of this son of a bitch that I don't hate, but that does not make this right."

"He killed Mia, Luke. We're killing him tonight." I tell him coldly.

Knowing that he won't sway me, Luke walks off with the rest of them, shaking his head with a sigh, but Sarita is adamant about not letting Clementine stay. But, Clementine refuses to leave, much to Carver's pleasure.

"Atta girl. She ain't afraid to look it in the eye. You go with that feeling ya got right now, Clementine. It's what makes you stronger than the rest of them. Even Sullivan. Yeah, Sullivan. You coulda been the next great leader, kid. You had the strongest mind, I wasn't sure I could even break you. But here we are. I found your weakness. You care about your people too much. Your sister, she was nothing. A two-bit whore who was nothing more. You should be happy I-" Kenny shuts Carver up quick with a hit to the face, and soon enough, he starts wailing on him. The thud of metal hitting face is satisfying, but not enough.

"Kenny. Wait." I stop him. I want this kill. He gets it, handing me the crowbar without saying a word.

"Attakid. I knew it would come to this. Go on. Do it. That fire in you right now? It'll keep you alive. Trust me, in this group of weak-minded fucks, you're the one that's gonna survive. I know it. So kill me. I've done my job here." Carver growls at me.

And I resume, slamming the crowbar down on his face, with all the force I can muster.

"You tried to fuck with me! You wanted to turn me against my own! You failed!" Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. With each hit, his face gets more bloodied, his skull cracks further, and his eye literally pops out of its socket. By the time I'm done, his face is well past recognition, skin completely gone, and bits of skull and brain matter splattered all over. Long gone.

"For Mia." I mutter as I slam the crowbar into what's left of his face one last time, lodging it in there. Kenny and Rebecca look at me with satisfaction. Carley and Clementine, not so much. But I don't care at this point. I got my revenge. He's dead. Believe it or not, I actually feel better, in a sadistic sort of way.

"Let's Go." Kenny tells us as we go to join the group outside.

Holy shit. There's thousands of them. Walkers as far as the eyes can see. Jane better be telling the truth, or else this plan will literally kill us all.

But, Jane has confidence in it. As Clem kills one, Jane cuts it open, and some guts spill out. Luckily for us, gunfire from the building lures them away from us, buying us time as we cover ourselves in guts.

Back in Savannah, I waded through sewage for a mile to help Lee find Clementine. It was the most disgusting thing I had ever done. This tops it. Easily. It's as though these things eat literal shit all day, and now we're wearing it.

If I die, I will die looking and smelling like shit.

I help Carley cover herself, and despite the walker guts, she still looks cute. But no time for flirting, we need to get moving.

"Keep quiet guys. They might hear something they don't like. And for fucks sake, walk. Act like you belong, and you will belong." Jane tells us as we slowly make our way into the herd.

Gunfire continues to distract them, but the feeling of being around them is still unnerving. The empty moans of these soulless creatures makes me cringe as I slowly step past them, trying not to stand out. The group slowly diffuses throughout the herd, but the gunfire shifts our way.

"Keep your cool." I tell my wife, still slowly moving forward as one looks at me for a moment, before moving on.

"ACK!" Carlos yells out, clutching his neck and running before several walkers pounce on him. A stray bullet struck him. He's gone. Fuck.

"DAD!" Sarah yells out, crying. She and Clem get surrounded by walkers as her crying draws more and more their way.

"Ian! What do we do?" Carley asks as I pull out my knife.

"We're almost through. Kill any that come at us!" I say to her as my blade plunges into one's skull. She does the same to another as we stab our way through the remaining walkers in our way. But that's not enough. Bonnie is the first to go loud, spraying shots into the horde around her. Soon enough, Mike, Kenny, and I are doing the same. Tapping the trigger and putting down anyone around us. One grabs me from behind, about to sink his teeth into my shoulder, before he drops instantly, my wife holding a smoking gun.

"Thanks babe."

"Don't mention it." She says, firing at more of them.

"Fuck. Can you see anyone?"

"No! No I can't. Wait! Yes! I see… Rebecca. And Jane. And Clem. Right by the treeline."

"Follow them! Rebecca knows the way to Parker's Run." She and I run off to join them as we reach the outer part of the herd.

"Guys! You ok?" I call out to them as we get into the woods.

"Ian? Carley? Thank God. You're ok." Rebecca hugs us.

"We're not ok yet." Jane tells us, still walking deeper into the woods.

Hours later, we continue through the woods. Along the way, we found a stream where we were able to clean a fair amount of the walker guts off, but the smell isn't going away anytime soon, the smell of shit and dirt and death. Rebecca has had issues walking, which she says comes from the pregnancy. If she can even make it to Parker's Run, none of us know. All we know is, the baby is coming soon, and we just lost our only doctor.

Losing Carlos was a big toll on this group. He was one of the people we could not afford to lose. To make matters even more difficult, Clementine told us that Sarita was bitten. Possibly still alive, but bitten. So Kenny is about to lose it. Again. As for everyone else, Sarah ran off after Carlos was shot, so Luke and Nick went to look for her. Kenny, Sarita, Bonnie, and Mike were last seen together, although we don't know if Sarita has very long. It's safe to assume that each group should make it to Parker's Run. Hopefully, at least. Rebecca still says we're maybe half an hour out, but I'm not confident she'll make it. Yet, she's adamant about not stopping. Not until she knows everyone's safe.

Finally, though, it becomes too much. She needs to sit down. The cramps or contractions, whatever it is, became too unbearable for her. So as we sit, Carley asks me something I wouldn't have expected at this point in this mess.

"Do you want kids?"

"Eventually, yes. I don't think right now is the best idea, but if this Wellington place turns out to be legit, or someplace else, Yes. I do want kids at some point. Why?"

"I don't know… I was just thinking that if Rebecca is having this kid soon, maybe we should consider it, eventually. I want some in the future. Maybe a handsome son who's an athlete like his father."

"Or a beautiful daughter with her mother's looks and wit." She smiles and rolls her eyes at my comment.

"Stop." She says with a giggle.

"Tell you what. If Wellington works out, let's try for a kid. I think we're ready."

"Really? You think so?"

"I know so."

Rebecca gets up with a groan. "I'm ready guys. Let's move."

Minutes later, it comes into the clearing. Parker's Run. A barren landscape with some buildings and open fields. As we get closer, some familiar faces come into view. Mike and Bonnie.

"It is damn good to see you guys." I dap Mike up.

"You can say that again. Holy shit. We weren't sure if you guys made it out."

"How's Kenny holding up?" I ask them.

"Not good." Bonnie tells me. "Sarita's slipping in and out of it. I don't think she has much longer."

"Yeah. He started yelling at me and shit when I tried to talk to him. Scary shit. I don't think he means it, but still. Never seen him like this." Mike adds. Yep. It's happening again.

"I think I have. Trust me, he'll be fine. He was like this when his wife and kid died. He'll be out of his mind pissed for a while, but he'll calm down." I assure the two of them.

"Good, man. Shit. I ain't never seen anybody like that."

"Well, I guess I'll address the elephant in the room. Sarita's on a timer. What do we do?" Carley asks us.

"I'll talk to Kenny." I volunteer. "I'll try to bring him back down to Earth."

Bonnie frowns and nods at me, and I walk over to Kenny, Sarita in his lap, looking pale as ever and Kenny looking like he's about to lose it. It's almost time, and I think he knows.

"I thought it'd be different this time. I had already lost everything. My wife, my kid, my group. It should've been over. I don't know why, but God gave me a new lease on life, just when I had stopped believing in God. Ain't that funny? When Sarita found me, she was so warm and welcoming. I didn't deserve someone as good as her. I shoulda died on that street in Savannah. But here I am, alive as ever watching the love of my life fade away a second time. I can't be alone again, Ian. She… she's all I have."

"Ken. I know, man. I get it now. I thought I understood when my parents died. But I get it now. Seeing Mia dead, when it should've been me, I get it. But these are the cards we've been dealt. She's gonna want you to keep moving forward."

"YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT! YOUR WIFE IS STILL ALIVE. YOU STILL HAVE SOMEONE TO LOVE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAKE UP EVERY MORNING PRAYING TODAY IS YOUR LAST SO YOU CAN SEE THEM AGAIN. THAT'S MY REALITY NOW, KID. SO DON'T TELL ME TO MOVE ON. YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT."

"Look, I'm sorry-"

"Sorry? You're sorry? That's fuckin' rich. You don't get to say sorry. Do you even care? Do you even care, or are you just here to scout me out? Because they sent you to make sure I wasn't gonna snap? 'Is Kenny OK?' 'Why's Kenny acting like this?'. Get the fuck outta my face."

Taken aback by his comments, I sit there for a moment, stunned by his words. But that wasn't good enough for him, and a punch soon lands, right on my jaw. My head hits hard concrete and he stands over me.

"I said GO!"

Without a word, I walk back to the group, favoring my jaw. Concerned looks aplenty, but Carley actually says something.

"Doesn't look like it went well."

"Nope. That man's lost it."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What do we do?"

"What can we do?"

"I guess we gotta wait till the others come back. Luke'll have a plan." Bonnie interjects.

"But what if they don't. It's been a while." Mike says, and Jane nods.

"He's right. We can't just sit here, waiting. Things are tough enough right now and soon, we'll have a baby on our hands."

"We should find Nick, Luke, and Sarah." Clementine suggests. "If they're in trouble, we might be able to help them."

"She's right." Rebecca agrees. "If there's a chance of them being alive, we should take it."

"I'll go." Jane volunteers. "Clem, come with me, too. I could use the help." Clem agrees to this and joins her.

"Keep your weapons close, in case something goes wrong." she tells us before she and Clem leave.

"You don't think she's worried about Kenny, is she?" Carley asks me.

"Shit, she might be. I don't know. Just keep an eye out for him, alright?"

"Maybe Clem can talk some sense into him. He wouldn't flip out on her, would he? She's only 11."

Continuing my gaze at the distraught man, I sigh. "Let's fucking hope."


	25. Life

Chapter 25 - Life

It's been a couple hours since Clem and Jane left to go look for Luke, Nick, and Sarah. While things have quieted down, I wouldn't say it's been better. Kenny took Sarita into a tent about half an hour after Clem and Jane left, and he hasn't come back out ever since. Who knows how either of them are doing?

Rebecca's baby is coming soon, so she says, and it's really been a flurry of emotions. Despite all this, there remains one question that no one can seem to answer. What does this mean for the rest of the group? My thoughts? It might be a liability to the group, but it's not like we can't care for a baby. I just don't think this is an ideal world for a child. But, we can't just abandon it.

I've taken some time to reflect on what happened yesterday, when Carver shot Mia. It was my fault. It's my fault she's dead. I was lost in the moment and got selfish when I saw an opportunity to hit Carver after the beatdown he put on Kenny. I wish I hadn't. I wish my baby sister was alive. If she had to go sometime, I just wish I could've said goodbye, told her I loved her, tell her to tell Mom, Dad, and Mick I love them, too. I'd give anything to tell her that now. Or even tell her I'm sorry. I'm sorry for getting her killed.

But it's too late.

It's too late for that.

She's gone.

And I have nobody to blame for that but myself.

I attacked Carver. I caused him to shoot her.

There's no shittier feeling than losing someone you love. I lost Mom, Dad, and Mick 2 years ago. Nothing I could've done there. But Mia, she wasn't supposed to go like this. Then again, is anyone? But the fact that her death is essentially my fault, it makes the pain her death has caused me hurt that much more.

But Carver's dead. That makes up for part of it. Blood for blood. An eye for an eye. Life for life.

It won't bring Mia back, but maybe I did the world a favor if there's one less Bill Carver in it.

"Son of a bitch" Mike mutters, looking out towards the woods. It's them. They're back. Jane, Clem, Luke, and Sarah. Wait. No Nick. So he's gone. Damn.

"You made it!" Carley jumps up and hugs Luke.

"Yeah, somehow. I'm pretty amazed myself." Luke grins, clutching his ribs. Carver laid a beating on him back at Howe's. Probably bruised, maybe cracked. 'If it weren't for Clem and Jane, I don't know what would've happened."

"Wait," Rebecca interjects, "Where's Nick."

Luke shakes his head. "Gone. I don't know what happened but he's dead. I saw that he'd turned but someone took care of it."

"Oh God." Rebecca breaks into tears as Luke walks over to hug and console her. We're dropping like flies. We're down to ten, nine if Sarita is already gone, but Rebecca's baby will make ten again. Who knows who'll be next?

Bonnie taps my shoulder and pulls me, Carley, and Clem to the side. "I ain't gonna sugarcoat this, but that baby's coming sooner than Rebecca's letting on. I was hoping if Luke might know something about babies, or if anyone else would?"

"I don't know about Luke, but I know Kenny had a family. I'd say he's our best shot if we can get to him." I tell her, looking off towards the tent he's residing in.

"Well we need someone to reach him, then. Y'all knew him longest, so I was hoping one of you could, you know, talk some sense into him."

I shake my head. "I think I'll sit this one out. We all saw how that went last time."

"So that leaves me and-"

"I'll do it." Clem volunteers.

"That might be best." Bonnie nods as Clem walks to Kenny's tent, opening a flap and disappearing inside.

Minutes later, Rebecca cries out, loudly, and a wet spot forms at her crotch. Either she pissed herself or… oh shit.

"Is that what I think it means?" Luke asks frantically. "What are we supposed to do?"

"What's going on?" Clem asks, with Kenny right behind her.

"Rebecca's water broke. The baby's on the way." Bonnie explains to her. "Kenny? What do we do?"

"Clean water. And blankets. And we need a place to hunker down too. We can't travel very far with a woman in labor.

"Map shows a couple of places nearby. Bonnie, wanna check out the museum?"

"Sure Mike."

"I saw a tall building just down the way that might work, I'll give it a look. Clem can come and help me." Jane offers.

"Sounds good, Jane." Luke tells her. "Kenny, I'm gonna check out the perimeter for any walkers. Ian and Carley, stick here with Rebecca and Kenny, make sure the area stays safe, and keep an eye on Sarah, too. She's a little shaken up after, you know." He frowns, alluding to Carlos's death.

"You got it man."

"Alright people, clean water and blankets. Let's find that stuff and get back here fast. Be careful." he says as the separate teams go their separate ways, leaving me, Carley, Kenny, Rebecca, and Sarah, to defend the area should we come across any walkers or people. Well, Sarah's way too young to fight and Rebecca is in no condition to fight. I wouldn't let Carley get dragged into that either. The last thing I want to see is her shot or bitten, so that leaves me and Kenny to defend the area.

Speaking of Sarah, my wife crouches down next to her, trying to say something to cheer her up. Ever since she got back, she hasn't said a word and has just sat down in a corner. God knows what that kid is going through.

"Hey Sarah." My wife says to her. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Y-Y-Yeah. I'm ok. I just need to see my dad again. Do you think he'll be back soon?"

My wife shoots me a concerned look, with no clue what to say. How does one tell a little girl her father was mauled to death by zombies after getting shot in the throat? Especially one that's been sheltered the last two years?

"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see, Sarah. I can't promise anything." is what comes out of my mouth.

She frowns. "Oh. Ok."

"Yeah," my wife adds. "But you can talk to us if you need to, ok?"

"Ok!" She says with a little more cheer and a slight smile.

Rebecca shrieks out in pain again. This fucking baby. It'll be the death of us of we're not careful.

"Fuck! You ok, Rebecca?" I call out to her.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! I'm just nervous. And it hurts. I-I wish Alvin was here."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Just remember, what he did, he did for you and the baby. Don't forget that. And what you and him did for Mia, I can't thank you enough times for that. I just wish she was here for this."

She smiles, despite the pain. "Your sister was an angel. She didn't deserve what Carver did to her. No one does, but especially your sister."

"I know. But I just can't help feeling it's my fault. I punched Carver. I caused him to shoot her."

"Stop that." she glares at me. "Stop that shit right now. Carver was a crazy son of a bitch. You cannot blame yourself for what he did to your sister. I would've done the same thing to him if I had the opportunity."

I nod, wiping a tear from my eye as I think about my sister. "Thanks Rebecca." I tell her quietly.

"Clementine! You're back! What'd you find?" I hear Kenny say with excitement. I look up to see her walking towards us.

"The building around back, it has an observation deck. Jane's trying to get the gift shop opened up, but it'll be a good place for Rebecca to have her baby." She explains to us.

"Sounds good. Once Mike and Bonnie get back, we'll go there." Kenny says with a smile. I smile, too. It seems like Kenny just might be coming back to his old self again. Maybe this baby is a better thing that I thought.

"We might not have to wait that long, then." Carley remarks as she points out to the treeline. Bonnie and Mike both walking towards us. Mike holds two big jugs of water and Bonnie holds what looks like blankets or something.

"Good fuckin' shit, guys." I say to them as they get closer.

"Yeah right? Can't believe there was this much water just lying around. And we found some old coats we can use for blankets. The museum was a home run." Mike grins.

Rebecca lets out another scream from the pain.

"How's she doing?" Bonnie asks.

"About as good as she can be. Clem and Jane found a place, so we should get moving soon."

"How about now? Like right now?" Carley points towards, what else, a group of walkers stumbling towards us.

"Never a break with these guys, is there?" I mutter as I pull out my knife. Maybe the AK-47 is better for something like this, but if I can avoid drawing more of them over, that's probably a good idea.

"How did these guys get so close without anybody seeing them. What the hell Luke?" Mike yells out as he grabs a hammer. Kenny walks out towards them, crowbar in hand.

"Clem, get them to the building. Mike, get the waters and follow her. Bonnie, help Rebecca and go to the building. Everyone else, get there. Kenny and I will hold 'em off." I start yelling off the orders as Kenny gets a head start on the walkers, bashing one in with his crowbar.

I stab one in the head right next to him, my blade puncturing its brain as it drops dead. "Try not to die this time, old-timer." I grin as I kill one more.

"Worry about yourself, kid. I'll be fine." He tells me as he kills one more and knocks another.

I stab one, more, quickly turning around to see that they're almost out of view. "C'mon Ken. We gotta go." I turn and run off after them, with Kenny right behind me. I take one last look out there at the horde. Oh shit. There's dozens, maybe hundreds of them. Jesus. They just keep coming from the treeline.

We approach another clearing, with walkers still in hot pursuit, drawn to us by Rebecca's screams. Maybe 100 yards ahead of us, the rest of them going up a flight of stairs to the building Clementine described to us. Kenny and I follow, and soon enough, we're up there with them, gift shop opened and everything. As we reach the top, I see Clem looking inside wide-eyed. I take a look and see- Oh my god.

"What the fuck?" Kenny yells out to the sight of Luke buckling his belt and Jane buttoning her shirt. They were having sex. Jesus fucking Christ.

"Are you guys serious right now?" I hiss to them. "We got a metric fuckload of walkers here and you guys are up here screwing around? You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

"Guys. Those walkers are right behind us. We gotta hold them off." Clem tells us.

"There's still the stairs" Jane mentions as Rebecca lets out her loudest scream yet.

"Set her down Bonnie. Kenny, do whatever you need to with Rebecca. The rest of us, do what you can to hold them off. Go loud if you need to." Mike tells us as he pulls out a handgun. I do the same and close the door from the top of the stair to the deck.

"Keep those fuckin' walkers off us!" Kenny yells amid the comotion. The first walker reaches the top and I down it with a pop from my glock. But there's too many of them, and as they clump up, pushing on the door, and slowly but surely, forcing it open.

"We need something to block the door!" Mike yells as he pushes against the oncoming onslaught of walkers with several others. The only thing on the deck, an old Civil War cannon, will have to do.

"Luke! Help me push it!" I call to him as I run behind it. He joins me and we start pushing. It slowly creaks along the withered wood as we push it towards the gate, as I hear a snap below me, and the cannon drops a bit.

"Oh shit." I say as there's more creaking, and part of the deck drops down below me, taking out the gate and dropping the walkers below. But with that, so is the support to this side of the deck, and I feel myself drop down onto the ground in the debris.

My head hits the damp wood and I lie there, dazed and dizzy, looking around at the sight before me. Walkers scattered around the massive debris pile left by roughly half the deck collapsing under the weight of the cannon.

A scream from in front of me. Oh shit.

Sarah.

She's pinned under some debris, and the walkers are coming close to her. Her bloodcurdling screams of terror snap me back to my senses. I pick up my sidearm, lying mere inches to me left, and pop walkers as they get closer.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

CLICK! CLICK! For fuck's sake...

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" I curse at my empty weapon. I fiddle my pocket for a fresh magazine, nothing. I must've dropped them during the fall, but no time to look around. I run towards Sarah, still crying out in pain and fear. I grab a board from the bottom and pull up, freeing her legs.

"Sarah! You gotta move! Now!" I tell her.

"I CAN'T" She cries. "SOMEBODY! HELP ME!"

"I'm trying." I assure her. "But you need to stay calm."

Pain shoots up and down my neck as a stray piece of wood falls and strikes the back of my head. I fall backwards, looking up at the horrific sight in front of me. Walkers pounce on Sarah, just as they did her father, and start tearing away. My stomach knots as her dying screams come with spraying blood from her shoulder, neck, and face. But soon enough, the screams stop and it's just the sounds of walkers enjoying a new meal. I take the opportunity to climb up the debris pile back to the rest of the group. I catch my breath at the top, noticing Clementine's horrified expression.

"Holy fuck…" I exhale with my face in my hands.

"She's… gone…" she says, tears in her eyes.

"I know Clem. I'm sorry. I tried my best." I tell her.

"Thank you for trying to help her." She tells me as she hugs me, which I return.

"Of course."

Rebecca lets out another scream as her baby continues to come out, but what Jane tells us terrifies me more.

"They're getting up. They're climbing up the debris." She's right. They're climbing.

"This shit don't fucking end, does it?" Luke mutters.

"Drop the fucking deck." I say to them.

"Are you crazy? How the fuck are we supposed to do that?" Mike says to me.

I point to a plate bolted down to the side of the building, connecting a cable to the deck as support. If we could destroy that….

"There. The plate. Clem, get your hatchet and get on my shoulders. I'll boost you, but you need to knock the bolts out. The rest of the deck will come down."

"Ok." She pulls out her hatchet and gets on my shoulders, and with a couple hits, the plate gives way, the deck falls down with a big crash, and we have some space from the walkers for now.

Carley pulls me into a hug. "If you ever do something like that again I swear to God I'll kill you." she whispers in my ear before kissing me. I chuckle at her threat, returning the kiss.

"You can't kill me. I'm a survivor." I whisper back to her with a grin as we join the others.

From there, a solemn silence, with the exception of the walkers below us, but no noise from us. No screams from Rebecca, anything. No baby crying, either. I hold my breath at the sight before me: Kenny, hands bloodied, holding an unresponsive infant. The grimace on his face tells me all I need to know. It's dead. Her baby's dead.

But a cough from the infant tells me otherwise. And another. And some crying. Thank God. It's alive. I'd never been so relieved to hear a baby crying.

"It's a boy!" Kenny announces to us. "A healthy and beautiful baby boy!" Jubilation amongst us, I whisper to Carley. "This'll be us soon enough." She smiles and kisses me, whispering back to me.

"Can't wait, handsome."

Neither can I, Carley. Neither can I.

 **NIGHTTIME**

Rebecca's baby has been alive for roughly 4 or so hours, and everything is finally calm again. She and her baby get some well-deserved rest, but something keeps me up. I don't know what. But I can't sleep. Something biting at me. I walk out onto what's left of the balcony, to see Bonnie in the faint moonlight, smoking a cigarette. I lean on the small bit of railing next to her, sighing.

"I forgive you."

"Hmmm?"

"I forgive you for backstabbing us. I forgive you for helping Carver capture us. I even forgive you for being part of the reason my sister's dead. I forgive you for all of it, and I trust you now."

"I appreciate that, Ian. I liked your sister. She kept things positive and light. She was just a pleasant person to be around."

I smile and sniff once. "Yeah. That sounds like Mia. She and my brother Mick were great. I miss the hell outta both of them, but maybe it's a good thing they're gone. They're both in a better place. They don't have to fight this anymore."

"I had a sister, too. Her name was Emma. She and I, we didn't get along a whole lot, but I still loved her and she loved me. When this mess started, she was bitten. I put her down that night and it made me think. I underappreciated her. It's something I really regret."

I frown and nod at Bonnie's story. I can't say I can relate, but I at least understand what she's saying. I wish I could have one last goodbye from the family. Mom, Dad, Mick, and Mia. I never had a chance. That's something I regret. With a final sigh, I walk back to the room where everyone else is sleeping. Well, mostly everyone. I see Rebecca holding the baby, slowly rocking him to lull him.

"Can I hold him?" I whisper to her.

"Sure." She slowly hands him to me as I sit down against the wall. He quietly coos as I hold him, and I can't help but smile.

"You're gonna be big like your daddy. I'll have to teach you how to play football. Maybe you'll throw the ball a mile like Matt, or maybe you'll pound the rock like Knowshon? Yeah. You might be a runningback. I can see it in your eyes." I whisper quietly to him, talking about a few of my college teammates who were drafted into the NFL. Carley cuddles up next to me with a giggle.

"You're looking like a dad already."

"Yeah, but let's keep him out of football for a bit, at least until he's 9 or 10." Rebecca adds quietly. "I don't wanna see my cute little man get hurt."

"Sure thing, Rebecca. But I'll be scouting him." I joke to her. "As for you, Mrs. Sullivan, I think we're ready for a kid soon. Rebecca just had her baby, why not us?"

"Why not us, indeed." She giggles. "Sure. Let's start a family when we get the chance." We passionately kiss for a moment before Kenny takes the baby.

"You guys need your sleep, especially you, mom. Here." He hands her a blanket, which she graciously accepts.

"When's the last time you slept, Kenny?"

"About 2 years ago. I'll be fine. Don't you worry." He walks over and sits down with the baby as the rest of us drift off into peaceful slumber.

* * *

A few hours later, dawn comes, and I feel Kenny's hand tap me on the shoulder. That's our wake-up call, I assume. While we were asleep, some of the group members got into an argument about what to do next, and ultimately, they decided to leave and find a more permanent place to settle. Fine by me, but shouldn't we let Rebecca rest? It can't be a good idea to let a pregnant woman travel so much just after having a baby. But, Kenny has his mind set on this Wellington place and I'm not about to fight him on it.

A light dusting of snow cakes the ground, trees, and the rest of the scenery around us. It's the first time I've seen snow in person since that trip to Boston so long ago. Although this time, I'm wearing only a light jacket and some faded jeans, it makes me wish we were in Florida instead of Northern Tennessee. That cruise to the Bahamas Carley mentioned a couple years ago doesn't sound bad, either. Just anything to get out of the cold.

We trudge through an open field of snow, the freezing wind whipping right towards us as we fight against it. But Rebecca, easily the weakest out of all of us right now, is looking the worst. Her skin is pale, almost to that of me and Carley's, and with her tripping over herself every now and then, maybe it was a mistake to leave so soon.

Of course, there's been a new power struggle forming. This time, it's between Kenny and Luke. Kenny, of course, argues it was the right decision to get moving. Luke, like most of us, disagrees, and hasn't been afraid to make his point known and heard. But despite Kenny's determination to get moving, Rebecca fully collapsing is enough for him to have us stop. Bonnie helps her up and Mike escorts her to an old tire sitting next to a tree for her to sit down.

"Maybe this was a bad idea, Ken. Look at her. She's almost as pale as me."

"Don't be stupid, kid. She just needs to get warm. We gotta get to that town Clem pointed out. Once we're there we can find someplace warm. We can't be too far now."

"If she even makes it there, man. I'm serious. She looks like hammered shit."

"Ian. Trust me. We'll make it. She's a tough one."

"Hello!" A voice calls from behind us. I turn around. A tall, scrawny kid, off in the distance. He says something else to us, but I can't understand. Was he even speaking English?

"Arvo?" Clementine quietly asks? I turn my head to her.

"Clem? You know this guy?"

"Yeah… Jane and I ran into him back at the building."

"Well what does he want?"

"I don't know, but he says he has a sick sister. I don't think I trust him."

"Everyone keep your eyes open." Luke warns us as he walks towards Arvo. Kenny draws his gun as we move closer, keeping it down by his side. I keep my AK ready, but down.

"Hello! You are Clementine, yes?" He says with a thick, eastern European accent. Maybe Russian? I want to say Russian.

"Hi Arvo…." She says quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"So what's your deal, kid? You got people out here?" Kenny asks him. Before Arvo can respond, a tall blonde woman walks out, pointing a handgun at us. Some rustling from the trees and two men walk out, each holding AK-47s as well.

"These are my friends. We stay hidden for safety. But you we know. You're Clementine." He says in broken English before speaking to the woman and his friends in another language. The two men behind us chuckle and one of them says something back to him.

"What's so funny there, Arvo?" I ask him, slowly bringing my rifle up. I don't like this. Not one bit.

"I told them Clementine is the one who robbed me, and they think it's funny that she is just a little girl. And Buricko says you should put your guns down so we can take your things."

I shake my head. "That's not gonna happen, chief. I don't care what Clementine did or didn't do but we're not giving you our shit."

The Russians converse for a minute or so before drawing their weapons on us. To which we do the same. My rifle is pointed right at this kid's head. Just give me a reason. There's 6 of us, and only 4 of them. If we all shot first, we can take them out right here. Wait a minute, where's Jane?

"All of you. Please just put your guns down. It will be fine."

"Tell your friends to stay cool, buddy. We've got a baby with us. We don't wanna see that little guy get hurt now, do we?" I keep the gun pointed at him.

"You have a baby?" he asks as he looks over to Rebecca and the baby. I look over too and- oh no.

She's dead. AND she's turned. Amid the commotion, we never realized that she died.

"Rebecca's dead!" I yell out as Kenny shoots her zombified corpse in the head.

All hell breaks loose.

 **Damn. Can't believe Season 2 is already almost done. Hopefully you guys have been enjoying. Season 2 is already finished and will be fully released in a few weeks. See you guys next week :]**


	26. Photograph

Chapter 26 - Photograph

Carley and I duck for cover behind the rock wall as gunfire rings out from both sides. The unmistakable "whizz" of bullets flying past me rings in my ear and I immediately duck back down.

"Stay down, and crawl along the wall. Stay out of their sight." I poke back up and start firing, striking the Russian woman right in the chest. Another bullet whizzes by my head and I turn to see the leader, the bald one with the tattoos, firing his rifle in my general direction. I duck back down into cover as Luke pokes out and sprays a few rounds at them.

"Clem!" He yells to her. I look out from the side, she's lying right in the middle of the gunfight. Not shot, but not in an ideal place either. She gets up, and starts running. Running towards… the baby? Holy shit. The baby. He's laying right there, right in the middle of the crossfire. She picks him up, running with the baby like he's a football until she ducks down behind cover next to me.

"Holy shit! You guys ok? He's not shot is he?"

"No. He's ok. Just frightened." Good. Good.

"Jesus Christ. What do we do? We can't let these guys take potshots at us until they run out of ammo." Luke tells us, poking his head out before more gunfire forces him down.

"I'll cover you. Just make it fast." I tell him.

"Yeah. Yeah ok. Do this on my go. Ready… Go!" I pop up from cover and hold down the trigger, shooting towards one of them as the bastard hides behind a rock. He pops out again and fires, and I hear Luke scream out to my right.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck" He yells out, gritting his teeth and clutching his bloody shin. 2 or 3 bullet holes in his lower leg, blood seeping out, staining the pure white snow.

"Oh Jesus. Did the shots go through?"

"Yeah. Yeah I think so. Fuuuuuuck that hurts."

"You're gonna be fine once we end this. We'll patch you up, alright?" I dump my empty magazine and grab a new one, ready to spray more rounds his way.

"Right right. End this."

"You get out here, or I put a bullet in this kid's head!" I poke my head out to see Kenny holding the Arvo kid hostage as the other alive Russian continues to hide. This is Kenny's way of ending things.

"Leave him alone Kenny! He's just a kid!" Bonnie says to him.

"I'm ending this shit, Bonnie." He responds, keeping the gun at Arvo's head. Out of the corner of my eye, the woman's body twitches. Once. Twice. Another time. She's turned. I shot her in the chest but I never put her down. She gets up and starts crawling towards us. But before she can get to close, Clem takes initiative and pops her, just as Arvo looks over to us.

"Nooooooooooooooooooo!" He yells as he squirms away from Kenny's grasp. "Natasha! Natasha!" He yells to the dead woman. Of course, there's no response. She was long gone. He turns to us with a glare in his eyes. She shot at us, so I really couldn't give any fewer damns about what happened to her.

The last Russian yells something before all I can hear is the sounds of choking. Blood pours out of his mouth and he turns to reveal a knife in the back of his neck. He claws out at nothing, but the inevitable continues with the knife in the back of his neck. The owner of the knife? None other than Jane herself. We all stand there watching him struggle for his life for a few moments before Kenny puts him down for good with a shot to the head.. Sans the baby crying, there is silence. Finally, it seems safe.

"Jesus Christ." Luke exhales. "That was… That was intense."

"I thought that was it man. I thought we were done for." Mike winces as he holds his shoulder, which apparently also got hit by a bullet during the exchange of bullets.

"It was us or them. I'm just happy it was them." Carley remarks. I put an arm around her, glad to see she was unscathed from the incident. Given some of our past gunfights, it's nice to see Carley and I both alive and not wounded. Hopefully our luck doesn't run out anytime soon.

We huddle around Rebecca's body. She had no last words, didn't say anything, just died.

Fucking tragic.

"She turned. Just like that. She must've lost too much blood. Ain't nobody's fault. Nothing we could've done." Luke says somberly.

"I'll never forget how she and Alvin kept Mia alive. I owed them the world for that, but they're gone." I frown. I'll be forever grateful to those two.

"Ian. You saved the boy's life. They would've wanted that." Mike reminds me.

"Yeah. Yeah you're right."

I walk over to her body, seeing her eyes still open, and close them for good. "Thank you for keeping Mia alive, Rebecca. Now you rest easy, and we'll keep your boy alive."

 **CRACK**

We all freeze at the all too familiar sound of a single handgun shot.

And my heart stops.

I look up to Carley. A pained look on her face as she collapses.

"CARLEY! CARLEY NO!" I rush to my wife's side, and a dark red spot forms on her chest. Blood seeping from the wound. She's been shot.

"NO! FUCK! FUCKFUCKFUCK!" I apply as much pressure as I can to her chest, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. "BONNIE! BONNIE GET THE FUCKING BANDAGES! FUCK!" I unzip her jacket frantically, throwing off her shirt, leaving her in her white undershirt, most of it now stained red in her blood. An exit wound, just above her midsection, seeps blood.

"Ian here." Bonnie hands me some bandages. I unroll them, laying them on the wound and holding them down as hard as I can.

"Ian…." my wife says to me weakly.

"Not now Carley! You're gonna be alright. Fuck!" I frantically apply more bandages.

Not now Carley.

Not now.

Not ever.

This isn't how it ends for us.

It can't be.

"Ian…" she says even more weakly. "My jacket. Pocket. In there…"

"Carley… Baby no. No. You're gonna be alright. YOU'RE GONNA MAKE IT! CARLEY!" Tears well up and my voice breaks.

"I love you." She leans up to kiss me one last time as I feel her fade away in my arms and my heart finally shatters as I lay her down, her eyes glued to the sky and a blank expression on her face. She's gone.

My wife, the woman I loved, the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with, taken from me in the blink of an eye. Just like that. Like someone blew out a candle.

I put my face in my hands, letting out the most painful scream of my life. A mixture of blood and tears coats part of my face as Luke puts his hand on me. I shove it off me, walking over and crouching over her jacket. Reaching inside her pocket, I see what she wanted me to have. The Polaroids from back at the cabin. One of her and I kissing, and the other of just her. I have to cover my eyes and cry. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this. A last gift from her. A way for me to always remember her.

Clementine, tears in her eyes, hands me her gun, which I take graciously from her with a hug. With a sniff, and a squeeze of the trigger, I make sure she doesn't come back.

"I'm sorry." I whisper. She's in a better place. She doesn't have to worry about this anymore.

Hopefully I won't have to, either..

"You son of a bitch!" Kenny roars as he throws a punch at Arvo. "You piece of shit! You killed his fucking wife!"

I walk next to him. "Hold him down." I tell him as I draw my pistol. He grabs his arms and pins them behind his back, all while setting him down on his knees.

I send a swift kick to his ribs. And another. And another. He coughs up a little blood and I point the gun right at his temple.

'Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put a bullet in your brain right fucking now."

"Ian don't! He's not a threat to us." Bonnie says to me.

"Not a threat? I'm sorry, did you see what he JUST did?" I fire back to her.

"Please…. There is house… food. Please, I can take you." He weakly says to us.

"Bullshit. He's fucking lying." Kenny says to me. Frankly, I agree. This is exactly what I'd say to save my skin if I was in his position.

"Wait. Hold on. Ian, think about this. If he's telling the truth, we'll have food and shelter. If he's lying, then you can shoot him. But if you kill him now, we'll never know." Mike says to me.

"Is true. We have place. Food. Not far. I can take you." Arvo pleads.

"Why the fuck would you want to help us? And why the fuck should we trust you?"

"I not want to see more people dead."

"You don't want to see more people dead? That's fucking rich. You just killed my wife 3 minutes ago."

"Please…"

"Think about the baby. This ain't gonna matter if we all starve." Bonnie says to me. I sigh and look up to the sky for a second, before looking back into the kid's eyes, lowering my weapon.

"Alright, kid. You've bought yourself some time.." I raise my gun and point it at him once again. "For now. But just give me a reason…. Just give me a fucking reason."

"You're making the right decision, Ian." Bonnie tells me.

"Yeah whatever. We got something to tie this fucker up with?" Bonnie hands me some rope.

"I got it." Kenny offers and I hand him the rope, watching him tie Arvo up and not being too kind about it. Kenny might hate this guy more than I do.

Arvo starts leading the way as I take one final look back at my wife's body. Her final resting place, the middle of some field in Tennessee. She deserved better. She deserved a proper burial. She deserved a proper life for the princess she was. Not this.

But instead, all I have now are a couple photographs. A couple photographs is all that's left after years of love.

"Ian. You coming?" Bonnie asks me, the others well ahead of us.

"Yeah. I'll be right behind you." I take one last glance at Carley. The last time I'll ever see the love of my life ever. With a frown and a sigh, I walk away to catch up with the others, but Bonnie cuts me off, pulling me in for a hug. Defeated by life, I nearly collapse into her arms and I just want to cry again.

"It'll be alright Ian. She's watching over you in Heaven. Everything's gonna be alright, don't you worry."

A single teardrop rolls down my cheek. "I can't even think right, Bonnie. I just can't. My wife, she's gone. Just in an instant. She was taken from me, just like that."

"Best thing you can do for her is to keep fighting. Don't let her death hold you down. I know you're strong enough to do 're a survivor. So keep on surviving."

I pull away from the hug, with a teary smile on my face, and I nod.

"Thank you."

* * *

A few hours later, Arvo leads us to a clearing in the woods. An old power station comes into view.

"This ain't it, is it?" Kenny asks him angrily.

"It what?" The Russian asks cluelessly.

"The house you're taking us to. This isn't it, is it?" Clementine asks.

"No. Is still more walk. Several hours."

"God damn it. He fucked us." Kenny curses aloud.

"It's getting late, we should settle for the night." Bonnie suggests. The general consensus agrees.

"We should scout the place out, check for any weaknesses in the fence. If it's secure, we may as well." Jane says.

"I'll check it out. Can you calm him down?" Kenny hands me the baby, who's acting a bit fussy for God knows what reason.

"I'll go with." Jane volunteers as well. The two of them leave, as I try to deal with Alvin Jr., the name they chose for him along the way.

I try to rock him in my arms slowly, shushing him, bouncing him lightly in my arms, nothing. He continues to cry. But Clem takes him from my arms and does a silly face, instantly quieting the boy, somehow.

"I guess you're just a natural" I remark.

"I guess so" She says as she continues to hold him, rocking him slowly.

"Come on over y'all. It's safe." Kenny's voice calls to us from just outside the power station.

Soon enough, we're all huddled by a fire. Well, most of us. We tied Arvo to a pole and Jane opted to not join us by the fire. As for everyone else, we enjoy the warm glow of the fire.

"Today's my birthday… I think" Luke tells us, breaking the silence.

"Happy Birthday, man. How old?"

"27. But I feel a lot older."

"Oh don't even get started with that shit." Kenny remarks with a smile.

"Got out of college five years ago. Feels like a million." Luke says, looking down at the cement ground we sit on. Five years ago, he was done with college, that means it's been about three since I got drafted. And I never got to take a single snap. All the work for none of the glory. It sucks. "At least I don't gotta worry about any student loans." he sheepishly grins.

"I hear that!" Mike smiles. "But I bet there's some asshole that's gonna be sitting on the paperwork, waiting to collect."

"I miss college. It's funny, I got drafted in the NFL and was so excited to be done with school, done with worrying about money forever. Yet here I am, willing to give anything to go back to those times."

"Yeah. Not havin' to worry about money must've been nice while it lasted. I majored in Art History, hasn't exactly helped too much in the past few years." Luke says to us, which gets a chuckle out of Kenny.

"Sounds like you majored in workin' in a coffee shop."

"Pretty much. I did minor in agriculture to keep the old man happy, at least."

"Oh I almost forgot." Bonnie pulls out a big red bottle with black and gold trim. "I was saving it for a special occasion and well, bein' your birthday and all, I figure why not."

"Rum? Where the hell did you get good rum in this mess?" I ask with a smile.

"Bill didn't like us drinking. He said it turned strong people weak and weak people into liabilities. He kept it all in the armory, so I snuck a bottle when we broke out." She hands Luke the bottle.

"Well I feel guilty taking the first sip."

"Woah woah. You gotta say a toast before you drink." She lightly scolds him.

He shrugs embarrassed, "I'm not really the talking type."

"Come on birthday boy, it don't have to be fancy."

"Well alright then… To the loved ones we lost along the way, and to the hope that we see them… someday." He raises the bottle before downing a sip of the rum.

"Here, here." Mike says and I nod in agreement.

"I'm gonna take first watch." Kenny offers, standing up and walking off before any of us can try to convince us otherwise.

Luke hands me the bottle. "I think you need a drink the most, man. How're you holding up?"

I graciously accept the bottle and take a swig before saying anything. "This past week, I've seen the two people I love most taken from me in the blink of an eye. When I came home that first night and saw my parents and brother dead on the basement floor, I never had a chance to say goodbye. When Carver shot my sister, I never had a chance to say goodbye. But Carley, I had a chance to say goodbye. I got to tell her I love her one last time. I thought it'd be better, but it's only felt worse. I can't think straight, I don't know what to do. This whole time, I acted in Carley's best interests, but now that she's gone, I don't know what to do." I take another big swig, and I start feeling the booze hit me. "It's kinda funny in a fucked up way. I did so much to make sure she was safe, but now that I failed at that, I have no clue. That was my only plan, keep her alive."

"Carley was nice. And really pretty. She had really pretty eyes." Clem tells me, and I nearly tear up thinking about it.

"I fell in love with those same brown eyes the first day I met her. Every morning, I'd fall in love with her again. She had that effect on me. She was something like no other woman. I truly believe she was my soulmate."

"I'm sorry, man. She was something special." Mike tells me. And I nod lightly.

"She really was. I couldn't imagine anyone I'd rather be with." I take one last swig before pouring some out for her, and handing off the bottle to Mike.

The five of us sit by the fire, enjoying the warmth and the alcohol for some time, before Bonnie suggests inviting Jane over.

Clem offers to talk to her and brings Jane the bottle.

"I cannot figure her out." Bonnie says as we take occasional glances over to the two.

"Why do you think she came back?" Mike asks. Luke and Bonnie shrug.

"Maybe she came back for you." I suggest, "Or maybe it was for Clem. She did take a shining to her."

"Maybe. Maybe." Luke shrugs again.

"Uh… hi" We hear her voice behind us as she walks over sits down next to Mike.

"Welcome." Bonnie's face lights up as Jane joins us.

"So I have a question for the both of you." Mike chuckles. "Were you guys really fuckin' back there?"

"Ugh." Jane shakes her head, smiling. "Yeah. We were."

"Come on now." Luke says. "Was it the worst thing in the world to wanna forget about this for 10 or so minutes?"

"10 minutes? That's longer than I'd last at this point." Mike remarks with a laugh.

"Alright, alright. It wasn't quite ten minutes." He blushes and rubs his forehead.

"I needed it, he needed it, so we did." Jane shrugs, and I chuckle a bit. First time I've legitimately laughed in a while, but maybe that's the drink in me.

"So it was good at least?" Mike asks with a sorta tipsy smile.

"Best 10 minutes I've had in the last 2 years." Luke smiles.

Bonnie looks up and shakes her head quickly. I turn around to see Kenny and Clementine walking back towards us, the baby in Kenny's hands.

"It's nice to hear everyone happy again." Clem remarks with a cheery smile.

"I definitely feel better. Being with you guys, it's made this a lot easier on me. So thank you for that." I smile, despite how I feel on the inside.

I'm not happy.

Not at all.

How could someone be happy after losing their wife and sister?

How does one stay hopeful when they've lost everything they love?

"We've spent so much time trying to stay alive, that we don't really have a chance to be living. I'm glad we could have a night to enjoy that." Luke adds.

"We really do need to make more time for that." Bonnie quietly says in agreement.

"The alcohol helps." Luke responds as he takes another swig.

"Damn right it does." I nod as he hands me the bottle and with a gulp I take my last drink of the night.

Far off to my left, I hear Arvo crying. I can't say I feel bad for the kid, but I sorta get where he's coming from. At least, I understand how it feels. I still want him dead for what he did, yet I'm having a hard time trying to justify killing him.

Mike notices this, too. "Hey Ian. Lemme get that bottle. There's someone else who could use some help."

I hesitate for a moment, looking over at him, I debate if it's worth giving Arvo any booze at all. But it's not fair to him for me to be drinking away my pain if he can't either. So with a frown and a sigh, I drop the bottle in Mike's hands.

"Sounds like a waste of good rum." Kenny mutters.

"He lost his sister today, Kenny. Lighten up." Bonnie says to him.

"Lighten up? He killed Ian's wife. Almost got the rest of us shot, too. It's his own damn fault his sister's dead."

"Kenny." I stop him. "It's fine. Give the kid a drink."

Without another word, Mike walks over to Arvo and offers him a drink.

Despite Mike's good intentions, Arvo is having none of it. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" The Russian kid yells out. And yet, Mike stays and consoles the kid. Kenny gets up with a look on his face that raises nothing but red flags. I look him dead in the eyes and shake my head. He sits back down as we let Mike talk to Arvo.

"We should probably get some rest." Bonnie suggests, "We don't know how much further Arvo'll lead us."

"I'll take first watch." Kenny declares as he stands up.

"Thanks Kenny." Bonnie says to him as she gets comfortable.

"Don't mention it." He mutters with a frown as he goes to his spot.

I sit up against a wall, looking into the dying fire, thinking about Carley. My first night without her. Four years of happiness, all down the drain. How does one get over that? How does one find a way to make up for all that being taken from you, for no good reason?

How does one keep moving forward when they've lost everything they care about?

That's a question I'm gonna have to figure out.

 **#RIPCarley**


	27. Trying to Justify the Unjustifiable

Chapter 27 - Trying to Justify the Unjustifiable

My body shivers as my boots crunch through the thin layer of snow coating the ground. For the past three hours, Arvo has led us through the woods to where he claims his house is. For the past three hours, he's assured us that we're close. But for the past three hours, it's been trees, trees, and more fucking trees.

"There." Arvo points out as we reach the edge of the trees. On the other side of a frozen lake, an unfinished house. This is his house? For fucks sake.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me. That piece of shit? It's half-built." Kenny is just as unimpressed, although he's more vocal about it.

"We're here for the supplies, Kenny, not the house." Jane reminds us.

"Is warm. We have fireplace." Arvo adds. Maybe this won't be the worst place to stay. It's just a matter of getting across the lake, which might not be the best idea, but the lake stretches out pretty far. We might just have to go for it.

"If the ice is thick enough, we should be fine, right? Just keep it slow and don't run."

"Ian's right. And we should probably spread out, even out the weight." Bonnie adds.

Kenny shoves Arvo ahead. "We'll let the Ruskie go first. If he breaks the ice, then so be it." He coldly says. Fine by me. We have the house and any supplies inside once we reach it. Like Jane said, that's what we're here for.

With a glare back at us, Arvo starts walking over the ice, and the rest of us soon follow, keeping our movements slow and steady.

I hear a light crackling noise from behind me, and Clem stands nervously over a crack in the ice.

"You're ok Clem. Just keep going slowly." I assure her, but movement behind us all catches my eye. Several walkers, slowly stepping towards us, have reached the ice.

"Walkers!" Jane announces to the rest of us.

"It's only a few of them. We should be fine. Just keep moving." I say as I continue to slowly step on the ice.

My chest starts pounding. That feeling where your chest feels like it's about to burst? Yeah. Like that. I take a quick glance back to see two walkers walk over a thin layer of ice, instantly shattering it and both of them plunging under. Parts of this lake are not as thick as we thought.

"Hey motherfucker! Don't you run!" I look with a grimace as Arvo starts taking off but, despite his age, Kenny runs him down easily, tackling him to the ground and starts throwing haymakers.

"Jesus Christ, Kenny stop! This is not the goddamn time!" I curse aloud.

To my right, Luke freezes in place, holding his arms out to distribute his weight. At his feet, a circle of cracked ice ready to shatter with any more force applied.

"Don't" He warns as Bonnie tries to walk over to help. "I can make it."

"You sure?" She asks him, the walkers getting closer. He nods quickly in response.

"It's too thin for the both of us… I just gotta be careful."

As if on cue, the ice gives way, and Luke's lower body submerges into the freezing water. Bonnie and Clem both run to him, but they stop at his protests, out of concern for the thin ice.

"Clem. You're light. You can get him. I'll cover you." I tell her as she slowly steps towards Luke, despite his disagreement. I pull out my glock and pull the trigger once, a walker close to Luke drops. I do so again. Another one drops. All until she finally reaches Luke.

But she never does.

Maybe 2 or 3 steps away from Luke, the ice becomes too thin. And suddenly the two plunge below the ice.

"CLEM! LUKE! FUCK!" I yell out, looking for any sign of either of them.

"FuckFuckFuckFuckFuckFuck" Jane curses as she runs to the side of the hole the two of them left, looking for any sign of either of them as well. Finally, she fishes her arm into the water, pulling out Clementine. The little girl lays unresponsive on the ice.

"We need to get her to a fire now." I tell Jane as she picks Clem up and runs her to the house. I take one last look for any sign of Luke. Anything. Nothing. I try to take a better look, but the damning noises of walkers moaning and ice crackling is all the message I need to haul ass to the house.

* * *

"We need a fire or else she's gonna fucking freeze to death!" Jane tells us as she frantically throws Clem's jacket off her. I take mine off and wrap it around her as best I can as Bonnie fiddles with a lighter, trying to ignite some firewood, but to no avail.

"Anyone else got a light?" She asks around. I feel my pockets. Yep. Still got it. I toss mine to her, hoping it still works. She sparks it. And again. These sparks turn to embers, and then, finally, the wood catches, and we have fire. A collective sigh of relief is let out as Clem moves closer to the fire, shivering less and warming up once again. Thank God.

But, of course, just as it would seem like everything would calm down again, Kenny has to go and start some shit with Arvo.

"You son of a bitch! This is your fault!" He says as he shoves the Russian teen to the floor.

"Kenny! Cut that shit out!" Mike yells at him, trying to defuse the situation. "It ain't his fault, man."

But Kenny ignores Mike, continuing to berate the kid. "Look at this place. Just a stack of fuckin' toothpicks. I bet those magical supplies are bullshit too, right? What's wrong kid? No speaka de English?" He asks him with another shove.

"Fuck You." Arvo quietly says under his breath before Kenny lands a sucker punch on the right side of his face, and the older man starts to throw more and more punches. Arvo lays there, taking the punches, and occasionally muttering a defiant "Fuck You" to Kenny, which only prompts him to hit him some more.

"Kenny. Jesus Christ. Kenny stop." I say to him and despite our pleas for him to stop, he doesn't listen. All he can do is continue to mercilessly beat the kid. Clementine runs up to Kenny, trying to pry him off Arvo, but all we hear is a quick crunch noise followed by a yelp of pain from her as we see her hold her nose. In Kenny's rage, he accidentally elbowed Clem right in the nose.

Thankfully, Clem's yelp brought him back to his senses, as his rage quickly turns to concern, and he finally stops and backs away from Arvo. The rest of us finally get a view of Kenny's work to Arvo's face. His glasses are shattered, and his eyes are both swollen. As for the rest of his face, bruised and bloodied. Kenny did a number on the kid. God damn. That's brutal.

Jane walks into the room, duffel bag in hand. "Jesus fuck, Kenny. What did you do? He wasn't lying. There's another one just like it. He was telling us the truth."

But Kenny looks in the bad, pulling out a can of some sorts. By the look on his face, he's not impressed. "Care to explain to me how the fuck a can of chili is gonna help a baby?"

"How is beating a kid to death gonna help anyone?" She snaps back at him.

He glares around the room for a moment, before looking back at the kid one last time. "I'm tying him up." He announces to the rest of us. There is not a single word spoken from the rest of us. No protest, no agreement, nothing. None of us dare say anything to Kenny out of fear of what will happen. The man's completely lost it.

This is worse, though. This is worse than Georgia. This is even worse than when we he lost Sarita. This is a Kenny that could very well snap and beat one of us to death for looking at him wrong. And we have no clue who could tip the scale.

For the rest of the afternoon, no one says a word. Curled next to a fire, the silence could not feel more chilling.

* * *

 **NIGHTTIME**

We've all sorta gone our separate ways for the night, doing our own things. Clem and Jane have been sitting together, Jane eating something from a can and Clem sleeping. Kenny went out back a few hours ago, saying something about getting a truck working so we can head North. Mike has been looking over Arvo and trying to help him out. He finally broke through to Arvo, and Arvo at least seems to trust him now. As for Bonnie, I can't say I've seen much of her. She's probably wandering around somewhere. Alvin Jr. has been sleeping cozy by the fire for a while now. The little guy is probably the only one of us that's comfortable, and he's sleeping in a cardboard box wrapped in a blanket.

Kenny comes inside and asks Clem to come out and help him out. With a slight bit of reluctance, she does, and as she gets up, I sit down next to Jane.

"I still can't believe he's dead. It just happened and I can't stop thinking about it. I've lost people before but… this is different."

"I know. I feel the same about Carley. To have someone you care about just be gone like that, it ain't fair. To see the woman I love, taken from me in the blink of an eye. I'm feeling all sorts of emotions about it, but I'm still shocked that it happened. Like I can't believe it. It's been a day and a half and I still can't believe it." I frown and shake my head as I look at Arvo. "I thought that was it after Mia. I thought 'Ok. It won't get worse than this.'. Boy was I wrong. Mia, Alvin, Carlos, Sarita, Nick, Sarah, Rebecca, Carley and Luke. Those are the people we've lost in the last two days. That was more than half the group when Carley and I joined. Now every one of them is gone and there's none of that group left, except for Clem. I've known them for a little more than two weeks. I just want it to be over."

"What do you think we should do with the kid? You know, because of what he did to Carley?" she asks me.

I take a moment to think about it. Pondering about what I really think. "Honestly? I have no idea. I'm mad as hell he killed Carley, and nothing more would make me happy right now than to kill him. But even then, I can't bring myself to do it. Why? I killed Troy for hitting her. I killed Carver for killing my sister. So why can't I do it for him? Why is it that I was willing to go to extreme lengths to kill my sister's killer, yet I can't do the same for Carley's? Can you explain that? Cause I can't."

She frowns and shrugs her shoulders. "I mean, he's like what, 18? 19? And he lost all his people. Maybe he just wasn't in a good mental state. Angry, depressed, scared, he probably just shot the first person he saw as payback. I don't know. I'm not justifying what he did at all. And if I was in your position, I would've killed him already. But, maybe your humane side came out in this world of animosity."

"Maybe. Maybe. I don't know. Maybe I'll find it in myself to finish it. Maybe I'll eventually forgive the kid. Maybe we'll all be dead by tomorrow. Who fuckin' knows?"

"Maybe…" She says back to me.

I get up with a sigh and walk out the door to see Bonnie on the steps, smoking a cigarette. She takes another drag as I sit down next to her. Without a word, she offers me a cig and a graciously accept it.

"Do you remember when you saw me for the first time? Back at the lodge?"

"Yeah. Right before this shit got worse." I nod as I light the cig and take a drag.

"Right. Well, I noticed you and Kenny talking, occasionally glancing back at me. I didn't think much of it at first. But the two of you weren't sure about trusting me. You guys care about your people. You didn't trust me because you were concerned for your people. I should've realized that. Carver wasn't really like that, y'know. He saw all of us as expendable. Even when you beat the hell outta Troy he didn't even bat an eye at it. He encouraged it. That's not a man you want leading the free world."

"I'm glad I did what I did." I say with another drag of my cigarette. "I don't regret killing him for what he did and what he could've done."

She takes another drag of her cigarette before asking me another question. "Have you ever done something you regret, even though it was something you had to do?"

This question hits me right in the gut. The obvious answer here is what happened to Mia, but did I have to punch Carver? If I didn't punch Carver, would Mia still be alive? Would I?

"Well, I have. And it was dragging y'all into this. It was partly my fault. Everyone who's died since then? Their blood's been on my hands. And I feel like shit for it. Especially for what's happened to you. You lost the two people you care about most and I'm part of the blame. I'm sorry. If we didn't capture you and bring you to Howe's, your sister and wife and everybody else would be alive and well."

"Don't apologize." I assure her. "It's not your fault. You've made up for helping Carver several times over. Even giving me bandages and trying to patch up Carley when she got shot, I appreciate you for helping me, even if she didn't make it. There is no blood on your hands."

"Of course. And thank you."

The two of us sit there in the cold, smoking cigarettes and nothing more, until Bonnie asks me another tough question.

"So is Kenny usually like this?"

"No. I've seen Kenny like this in the past, but this is the worst I've seen him. By far. He's never been so angry and hated a person so much, as far as I know. Even the kid that got his wife and kid killed."

"Oh. He's lost his damn mind."

"Yeah. He has. And I'm terrified of him."

"Me too. So is Mike. And I assume that Arvo boy must be fearing for his life every second."

"I would be. Kenny's a scary fucking guy sometimes. Especially when he loses it like this."

"Yeah…" She finishes her cig and immediately sparks another one. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you this, but Mike and I have been… talking about getting out of here. Away from Kenny. He's too dangerous to us but we can't just kill him. So Mike's suggested that we just get out while we can. And I think you should come with us."

My eyes jolt open at her idea, but I look out into the darkness around us, just looking out at whatever may be out there. How does one even process something like that? That some of the group wants to just up and leave entirely? And she wants me to come with her?

"Bonnie… I can't do that. It's wrong. I just… I don't think I could do that."

"No I know it's just… You have done nothing but think for the group. And Kenny's been dangerous. I know you're a good man and want to do the best thing for everybody. But when's the last time you did the best thing for Ian? When's the last time you looked out for your own safety? I can tell you this, this group here is not gonna hold up as is. If you leave with us, I think you'll be better off. You'll piss off some people, but you'll be a whole hell of a lot safer than if you're with Kenny in the state he's in right now."

I sigh again. "Bonnie, I owe Kenny my life. Do you expect me to just throw that away? I don't think I can do that to him. But if I stay and Kenny doesn't agree with me on something, he could just kill me if he stays like this. Fuck I don't know."

"It's your call, but I think you should."

I look up at the sky, contemplating my options. I can't betray the man who saved my life, but at the same time, the man is mentally unstable and could kill someone for any reason. If I stay, I have shelter for now, and supplies for now. If I leave, I can know that I have people I can trust. What is more important? Security or Trust?

"I'll do it. I'll come with." I finally come to the conclusion. I'll have to betray the man that saved my life, but if it means I can keep fighting for Carley and Mia, with a less risk of having to worry about him killing me or doing something crazy himself, then maybe this is the right decision for me. I'm a piece of shit for doing so, but I need to do this for me.

"Ok. I'll let Mike know." She says as she gets up. "Just so you know, Kenny is not gonna be happy about this."

"I know. But I think this is the best decision for me."

She nods and walks off. I finish off my cig and walk back inside to sit by the fire once again.

Minutes later, the sound of a truck ignition and Kenny cheering loudly. Son of a bitch. He actually got a truck working.

Most of us gather outside to find Kenny grinning behind the wheel of a pickup truck.

"I told y'all it would work. I told you!" He turns off the ignition and steps out."

"So what's the plan?" Jane asks.

"We head North. To Wellington." Wellington? I forgot Kenny was still crazy about this place in all the commotion. But Wellington? C'mon Kenny.

"Are you crazy? We need to go someplace warm, like Texas. Texas'll be much better for the baby." Mike argues. But, as usual, Kenny is having none of it.

"Texas? The fuck? We already decided on Wellington, right Clementine?" All eyes go to her, as she stands there surprised.

"We don't have to decide tonight, do we? Can we sleep on it?" She asks us.

"That's reasonable." Bonnie nods to Clementine's suggestion. But once again, Kenny isn't having any of it.

"Damn it. We don't have time for this." He says frustrated.

"Says you." Jane says, crossing her arms.

"Look. I don't give two shits what y'all think. I fixed the truck, so it's my call. And I say Wellington. It's our best chance of helping AJ.

"What about Arvo?" Mike asks.

Kenny turns to Mike with anger in his eyes. "Oh, the Ruskie? Yeah he ain't coming. He's caused us enough problems.

"So you're just gonna leave him here?"

"I don't give a shit where he goes. He's done."

"He could die!"

"Better him than another one of us."

"Look guys. I'm not going anywhere in the middle of the night. There could be a herd out there for all we know. We're better off waiting the night out." Jane intervenes, and Mike sorta agrees.

"You want that child's blood on your hands, Mike?"

"We're all gonna get killed if you don't calm the fuck down, Kenny."

"GOD DAMN IT!" Kenny yells as he gets into the truck. Clem knocks on the door and tries to talk to him, but Bonnie shoots me and Mike a look that tells me all I need to know. Before she and Mike both walk off.

We gotta leave tonight. And we're gonna.

* * *

Hours later, it's time. I see Bonnie's shadows slowly walk across the room, and he signals me to follow. So with a quiet creak, I get up and do exactly that.

"You got the keys?" I quietly ask her as we get outside.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm just gonna go get some supplies for the road and we'll be gone."

"Gas?" I ask her.

"Enough to get us pretty far. Far enough away from Kenny. Hopefully far enough to get us to a safe place."

I sigh. "Sounds good."

Standing outside the truck, Mike and Arvo. Of course the Russian is coming along. I can't say I'm thrilled about this, but whatever. Bonnie hands Mike the keys before she walks back to the house.

"I'm gonna go get the bag. Y'all wait for me and get ready. We can get going once I'm back." She whispers to us as she walks off.

"You're making the right call, man. Kenny lost his fucking mind." Mike assures me.

"I know. I know. It's just that I feel guilty about this. Like Kenny saved my ass back in Georgia a few times, and then I go and do this. Fuck, man. It ain't right, but I feel like it's the right thing for me."

"I feel you. But if we stay, then Kenny'll turn on the rest of us soon enough, if we don't die before then. At least this way we can have a chance for ourselves." He explains to me. I'm not sure that justifies what we're about to do, but if it's my best chance at making it, I think I have to take it.

"Who's there?" I hear Clementine say to us, pointing her handgun at us. Fuck. Arvo reaches for his rifle and points it at her. My heart drops as I see the expression on Clementine's face. Shock, anger, disappointment. A whole flurry of bad.

"Easy Clem. Easy…" Mike tells her as he slowly walks over to her.

"What are you doing?" She asks us.

"I've got the rest of it." Bonnie says as she walks out to the rest of us. But upon seeing Clem, she freezes. "Clem…"

"We're just leaving." Mike tells Clementine. "Keep it down, alright?"

"But that's everything we have." She tells us, motioning to the two duffel bags Bonnie holds. She's right. We're really fucking them over by doing this. Fuck. This is a bad idea.

"We gotta get away from him, Clementine. He's dangerous." Mike explains to her quickly.

"Ian? Why?" Clem suddenly looks at me. "Kenny… He saved you."

"I…. I…. I can't trust him Clem. He's lost it. He's a psychopath. And if I stay, he might just kill me. I can't risk that for myself. I'm sorry."

"We don't have time for this. We need to go." Mike tells us.

Mike slowly walks up to her, inching closer and closer while staying calm. "Ok Clem? Just give me the gun. Nice and easy, ok?"

Just as she seems to allow us to go, she yells out as loud as she can. "KENNY! JANE! HELP! THEY'RE ROBBING US!"

 **CRACK!**

Mike and I turn to see Arvo's rifle and its smoking barrel as Clementine's body drops to the ground.

"Holy shit!" I yell out as Mike pushes us to the truck.

"FUCK. We gotta go. NOW." He pushes me and Arvo into the back seats as Bonnie gets in shotgun and Mike starts the ignition.

"What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?" I keep saying this as we start driving away. What the fuck indeed. Jesus Christ. What the fuck was that? Arvo really shot her. This fucking kid. And I still stayed with them. What the fuck is wrong with me?

Kenny and Jane run out, frantic expressions and guns ready, as we start driving, I take a look back to see Kenny holding Clem in his arms as she keeps bleeding. God fucking damn it. GOD FUCKING DAMN IT.

 **A bit of a twist to end Season 2. There's going to be a couple filler chapters before we get to Season 3, so hopefully you enjoy that. These filler chapters are going to be shorter, but still important to the plot nonetheless. Thank you all so much for the support thus far, and constructive reviews are always appreciated. :]**


	28. End of the Road

Chapter 28 - End of the Line

You ever have that feeling where you've done something really wrong, and you can immediately feel it in your gut? Yeah. That's what I'm going through with this. I've felt sick to my stomach since we left Clementine to bleed out in the snow with her in Kenny's arms, and it's hard not to look back and think about it. But what I've done, there's no forgiving someone for that. Nope. That ship has long passed.

I'm not the only one that feels this way. Bonnie and Mike have both shown signs of discomfort thinking about the events of several hours ago. Arvo, on the other hand, hasn't really shown much emotion in general. I don't know if he understands what happened or if he knows, but he's happy about it. I really can't tell, and I'm not exactly inclined to ask.

But despite this, it's been a quiet ride. No one's said much of anything. What exactly is there to say? We stole a truck, shot a little girl, and abandoned half our group. We're awful people. I'm a selfish asshole for going along with this. But I can't leave them now. Like I said earlier, there's no forgiving someone for this. I made this decision, and now I need to live with the consequences of it.

"She's a strong girl. I bet she pulled through." Bonnie says.

"I hope you're right." I reply, looking out the window at the frozen landscape around us. "Hey Mike. Are you sure we're going South? It looks like there's more snow on the ground than where we left."

"I have no idea. The damn GPS in the truck is broken. I can't tell if we're going North, South, East, or West."

"Ian's right. I think we're heading North." Bonnie agrees with me. "The snow's getting thicker. We might be in Indiana by now."

"We're gonna be fine." Mike tells us as the car lightly swerves on the snow.

"Careful." Bonnie warns Mike. "This damn snow is dangerous."

"We're fine Bonnie. Don't worry. It's a bit slippery, but we'll be good." He assures us, despite the thickening snow and the increasingly thicker snowfall. But just barely, a little gray outline. Is that a..?

"Look out!" I yell as a walker immediately comes into full view.

"OH SHIT!" Mike yells as he tries to swerve to avoid the walker, to no avail. The truck starts spinning on the ice and snow, and all I hear is a loud crash before I black out.

* * *

I come to in a daze, slowly looking around dizzy before my mind snaps back to normal. During the crash, the truck must've flipped over. I sit upside down, my seatbelt keeping me suspended in the air.

"Mike?" I cough. "Bonnie? Arvo?" I cough again as I undo my seatbelt and slowly step out of the truck. "Guys? GUYS?"

I walk around, taking a look at the wreckage. The truck, completely totaled, struck a tree after we swerved off the road. So now the question now becomes what happened to the rest of them.

I find the first answer to my question as I look just beyond the tree, Mike's body lays limp in the snow. Shit. He must've gotten thrown out of the truck when we crashed. Is he alive?

"Mike? Are you ok? Mike!" I call out to him. Nothing. I slowly walk over, drawing my knife and fearing the worst, and I kneel down behind him. I put two fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse or any sign of life. I feel nothing but the cold of a body that's been in the snow for a while. Nothing. He's gone. "Fuck. Shit. Damn it." I curse to myself as I take my blade and plunge it into his head so he doesn't come back.

I walk around a little longer, looking for any sign that one of them is alive. Anything. Anything to show I'm not alone.

A set of footprints in the snow, right next to some droplets of blood, leading down the road. That's gotta be either Bonnie or Arvo, right? I follow the footsteps down the road, praying for a sign of either of them. Please. Somebody. Anybody.

Just be alive.

After several minutes of walking, I finally see someone. Standing there, her red hair standing out as much as possible. Bonnie.

"Bonnie!" I call out to her. "Bonnie! You alright?"

Bonnie turns to me. Oh no. She's not alive. Far from it. She's turned. A bite mark on her cheek, clear as day.

"Bonnie no!" I yell out. She's gone. And with no sign of Arvo, I really am all alone. "God damn it!" I yell as loud as possible as I pull out the glock. Bonnie slowly stumbles towards me in the snow, and I watch myself pull the trigger and her corpse slumps over.

My gaze pans around, looking for any sign of Arvo. But nothing. Just a cold, snowy landscape around me. The quiet, frozen hell, I'm all alone.

Without another word, I start walking in a single direction, with no intention to stop until I find someone or I die. With any luck, it won't be too long before one of those.

 **HOURS LATER**

Walking through the snow for hours, I've hit my breaking point. This is it. I'm gonna fucking die here in this cold.

I could drop dead any minute from this, and yet, I'm not nervous. If anything, I'm calm. Maybe this is for the best. I can see Carley again, I can see Mia, Mick, my parents, everyone I've lost.

To not have to worry about this anymore, knowing that soon enough, I can be done with this forever, there's something peaceful about it. I've fought the good fight, did the best I could to make it two years in this mess, but it's over. I've got nothing left to fight for, so what's the point of fighting?

My legs start to feel heavier as I continue to trudge along. My vision blurs and I crack a small smile. Death's sweet embrace will soon overcome me. Most people fear death. Hell, I feared it at one point, but now I welcome it. I encourage it. Come on, what's taking so long? Let me go. Let me slip away for good, so I can see the woman I love again.

My knees wobble, and my knees collapse into the snow. This is it. It's been a hell of a ride. 23 years, and only one single regret- that I got my sister killed. But that doesn't matter now. Cause it's all come to this.

I take one last look up to see a bright light coming to me, as though it were headlights from a car coming right at me. But before I can do anything, everything fades to black, and all I see is nothing.

* * *

I curled up on the couch, a recording of the 2009 Independence Bowl playing on the TV in front of me. Just two weeks ago, I had been drafted by my childhood team, the Atlanta Falcons. I had driven into Atlanta, met the ownership and several coaches, and had countless media appearances and interviews. The whole process with my second love, football, was so exhausting, I barely had time for my first love, Carley. With her working her internship and me going into Atlanta, we barely had any time to see each other anymore. But today, I had nothing going on and she had the day off, and for the first time in a while, we could just lay down together and do nothing. She, curled up next to me and going to town on a bowl of popcorn, and I watch what I didn't know to be my last football game ever.

"Cox. Got a man over the middle. It's Sullivan. Touchdown Georgia!" The ESPN announcer says on TV. Carley squeals with excitement as she sees me catch a Touchdown pass over the seam. The scoreboard flashing text saying "Touchdown Bulldogs", bringing the score to 23-14 over the Texas A&M Aggies. Seeing this only made me more excited about the NFL. Getting to do that regularly on national TV, it's been my dream. And I was about to fulfill that dream.

Knowing that everything I had worked for, everything I wanted in life, was all coming to me, it was the most satisfying feeling in the world. I had worked for years to get to this point, and reaping the benefits of it as a 21 year old kid, I was on top of the world. It would take all of hell itself to come up here to bring me down.

* * *

Well, 2 years later, I'd lost everything. NFL career, gone. My family, gone. My wife, gone. My friends, gone. And most recently, my hope, gone. Hell itself had come up and dragged me down to a point I wouldn't have been able to imagine 2 and a half years ago.

But it was finally over. The pain and suffering. All those losses I had to endure. It's all over. I can just relax and let myself slip away from existence. I can almost see it all now. The bright light, as though it were a sweet voice, beckoning to come to me. Mia and Carley, my parents, my friends, I can finally see them all again.

Life had kicked me down, and left me out to die on some road. I had nothing, nobody. My fight, it's over.

 **The first of a couple filler chapters. These are gonna be shrter than a normal chapter, but hopefully you guys still enjoy. :]**


	29. A Saving Grace

Chapter 29 - A Saving Grace

"Damn it Edith! What is this?"

"Quiet Curt. He's alive."

"So what?"

"If we can help him, I think we should."

"We're already over capacity as is, Edith. We don't have room."

"We just might. Help me get him in. We're taking him back. I'll pull some strings if I need to."

* * *

I wake up to a feeling of warmth, and the soft crackling sound of a fire. It's the first time I've felt comfortable in 2 and a half years. Perhaps I've died and wound up in Heaven, after all.

"Oh good, you're awake." I hear a woman's voice to my left, a tall, slender woman with brown hair, not much different than Carley's.

"How long have I been out?" I ask her with a groan, gulping down a glass of water sitting right next to the bed I slept in.

"About two days." She tells me. "A few of us were afraid we lost you. Some guy, just walking around in the snow, collapsing right in front of us as we drove toward him, we thought you were bit or something. But nope. You were just exhausted and cold."

"Jesus… Where am I?"

"You're in Ohio right now. Our camp is called Wellington. It's completely secure and for the most part, we're self-sustaining. You were fortunate that we were out on a supply run when we found you in Kentucky. What were you doing out there, anyways?" Son of a bitch. I'm at Wellington. Kenny was right. It's real. It's real and it's thriving. And I didn't believe him. Fuck...

"I was with some people… Our truck slid off the road and flipped over. When I found them dead, I accepted my fate and started walking. I never would have expected other people to find me. I thought I was all alone and a goner. Thank you."

"Of course. So, what's your name?"

"Ian. Ian Sullivan."

"Ian Sullivan? Like the football player?"

"That'd be me. I'm kinda surprised anyone remembers me." I slightly grin. I almost forgot how it felt to have some name recognition.

"Huh. No kidding. My dad was a Falcons fan and he raved about you since the night they drafted you. My name's Edith. I'm one of the head people here at Wellington. Our community itself is full right now…" my heart drops. Maybe there'll be a but here, 'But we can offer you some supplies' or 'But you can stay here a few days to rest up'.

"But I can pull some strings and get you a place in here. There just may be one place left I can get you in."

"Really?" My eyes light up. Maybe there's hope for me after all.

"Yeah. It won't be the nicest thing in the world but it'll give you a living space."

"That's fine." I tell her.

I get up from the bed and she leads me out of the room and out into the community. My jaw drops at the sight before me. People, at least a hundred or two of them, happy and healthy, absolutely thriving.

"Welcome to Wellington." She tells me proudly. And she has a right to be proud of this. It's incredible. I haven't seen anything like it since before the breakout. This community, this is a shining beacon of hope for humanity, not the twisted ideas Carver had.

"Holy fuck, Edith. This is amazing." I stare in awe at the community. "And you said this is all self-sustaining?"

"Well, for the most part. We have teams going on supply runs to pick up resources that we need here that we cannot supply ourselves. And there are several other communities in the area which we can trade with for other supplies. But in general, yes, we are self-sustaining. Has been for about a year and a half now. We have more fresh water than you could ever ask for, we farm in the warmer seasons, some livestock for meat, milk, and whatnot. The best part, solid metal walls all around the community. Nothing gets in or out unless it's through the front gate. I can say with the utmost confidence that this is the best place one could be in this world."

"You just might be right." I remark. "This place, it's like I'm dreaming. After two years of pretty much always being on the move, it's nice to see a place that I can settle down in." A secure, self-sustaining community. What more could one ask for in these circumstances?

"So, shall I show you to where you'll stay?"

"Lead the way."

She leads me through the community, taking every opportunity she can to show off every aspect of Wellington. It's an impressive setup. Everybody contributes, and it's held up pretty damn well.

But the one thing that I can't stop thinking about is Kenny. He was right. Wellington is real, and it's fucking thriving. It could've been different. I could've stayed with them and found this place, but would we? I guess I'll never find out. That ship is long gone. Not a chance he, Jane, nor Clem would forgive me. Hell, Kenny has a valid reason to kill me if he ever sees me again. And I wouldn't blame him. After all, I have no one to blame but myself for this.

She shows me to where I'll stay, and she wasn't kidding. It certainly isn't the nicest thing in the world, but I couldn't care less. It's a little one room apartment, but nonetheless it's a place for me to stay. I'll take it over another day out there any day of the week. A small cot, a nightstand, and a small fireplace. It's no mansion in the Hollywood Hills, but I'll be comfortable. And I'll be safe. And these days, that's more than you can ask for.

I put my AK-47 down by the door, and I put my glock down on the nightstand. I fish through my pockets for a moment, pulling out the pictures of Carley that she gave me before I lost her. A single tear runs down my cheek, dripping onto the picture.

"I'm sorry." I whisper to her picture. "I did so much to keep you safe and alive, but I couldn't do it. I failed you. I'm sorry."

I put the pictures down and bury my face into my hands. I lost everything. That should've been it for me. And yet, I got a new lease on life. Edith and her people have welcomed me in with open arms, and suddenly I feel like I have something again. Something to give my life purpose and meaning. Something for me to fight for when I'd lost everything I could fight for.

But why? I betrayed Kenny. I've done terrible things to people. I've killed so many people, and yet I of all people get a fresh opportunity. I should've died in Myrtle Beach. I should've died at the Motor Inn during the raid. I should've died in that alleyway in Savannah. I should've died at Howe's. I should've died in the gunfight with the Russians.

I should've died in the snow after ditching Kenny.

And yet here I am. Alive and safe.

And I have no reason why.

But maybe this is how I can make up for everything I've done.

Maybe this is redemption for me.

And I intend to find a way to redeem myself. Someday.

 **Well that's the last filler chapter, also the shortest. Anyways, Season 3 starts next Thursday. Hope you're looking forward to it :]**


	30. Burned

Chapter 30 - Burned

 **February 2014**

I lay in my cot as an old Johnny Cash song softly plays on the CD player to my left. I've been at Wellington for two years now, and the place has only gotten better. They've had me working on border security, which pretty much means I operate the gate some days and depending on who's there, I'm in charge of allowing them in or denying them entry. The job itself isn't terribly difficult from a physical standpoint. I get to sit around and talk with the other guards most of the time. In the past two years, I've had to tell me story several hundred times, about how I went from NFL prospect to fighting for my life, just like everybody else.

But if there's one thing I can't get over, it's having to turn some people away. With Wellington thriving, we've had the opportunity to expand, just like how Carver tried to do with his. Unlike Carver, however, we had more than enough manpower and resources to expand, as well as a legitimate reason to expand. But, even as we expanded, we still didn't have enough room to fit every person or group that came. But these people wouldn't go away empty-handed. As per Wellington rules, anyone we have to turn away gets a duffel bag with some supplies- food, water, a small amount of medical supplies, and such. It's not enough to live on permanently but it's enough to last some time. And as we continue to thrive, so do our neighboring communities. Camden, a community to the northwest, has been our closest friend as of recent, and people from that community are almost always here to trade, barter, or just hang out. In the past years, we've seen the group of dozens expand to over a hundred, just as we've gone from one hundred or so to over five hundred.

Most nights, I can't help but think about Carley. It's been two years since her death and I can't shake it from my head. Seeing her eyes wide open before she collapses and eventually bleeds out. Each night, I try to make it different to save her, to see her alive and in my arms today. But each time, it ends the same way. She bleeds out in my arms, and I put her down for good. Every time, I wake up with a gasp and that's it. I miss her. I miss the hell out of her and Mia, but maybe all this was for the best. I know I'd rather see them alive and well, but it hurts to think about how things could've gone compared to the way they did.

A knock at the door interrupts my train of thought, and Edith's voice calls to me from the other side. "Ian? It's me. Open up." She tells me with a hint of urgency in her voice. I open the door to see her in a panic.

"Edith? What's going on?"

"You know that group that was here last week? The one we had to turn away because there were too many?"

"Yeah. Why what's up?"

"They're back. They're back and they're armed and this is bad. This is real fucking bad, Ian."

"Well what do they want?" I ask her.

"More than we can offer. Way more. I've explained this to them and they're not buying it. So now they're pissed and it's gonna get bad."

Suddenly, a boom comes from outside and panicked screams come from within the community. Along with that, some automatic gunfire.

"Sounds like it just did." I say as I grab my AK, ready to get in a gunfight.

"There's way too many of them. Pack what you can and when I get back, you need to be ready to run."

"FuckFuckFuck…" I mutter as I grab my bag and start frantically shoving shit in there. Clothes, medicine, any food, my glock.

"It didn't have to be like this!" A woman's voice says among the gunfire. "Our people are starving and sick. You could've just given us some food and medicine. You could've avoided this! This is your fucking fault!"

"Ian! We gotta go, now!" Edith tells me as she gets to my door. Not wanting to get shot or killed, I grab everything I packed and run out the door with her.

"Wait! One second." I tell her as I run back into my room. I forgot the one thing I couldn't forget. The photographs. My most important possession. I snatch them from my nightstand and run back out there.

The first thing I see is a Molotov Cocktail, glowing in the night sky as it flies into the camp, landing and exploding right on a man. I watch in horror as he spends his last few moments in agony, desperately trying to put out the fire, to no avail.

We run through the devastated camp as the fires grow higher, and the screams grow fewer. What was half an hour ago the model of a community in this nightmare, is now all but burnt to ashes. She leads me out the front gate, to the sight of a dozen trucks and vehicles parked outside our gates. We quickly duck and run to the treeline, avoiding sight from anyone outside the walls.

"Fucking hell. What do we do?" She asks me as we reach the treeline. I poke my head out to take a peek. No one can see us.

"Run for it. Just keep moving. Don't look back. Just make it to those rocks over there" I take one last look around. With a deep breath and a silent count to three, I make my move, running towards the treeline and a couple large rocks by it. If we can get there, we'll be able to get out of here, for now.

She, not wasting any time, keeps my pace, staying right on my heels as bullets whiz past us. Someone sees us, and they are shooting to kill.

"Come on! We're almost there!" I tell her as I'm within yards of the rocks. I turn for one second to see a stream of bullet hitting the ground behind her but quickly getting closer.

Finally though, one connects, and I see my friend drop down.

"Edith! NO!" I yell out as more bullets come my way before ducking behind the rock for cover. When the bullets stop, I look out a bit. Just to see if Edith is alive.

No. She's not. A single round went right through her head. Dead before she hit the ground. I quickly move out of cover to grab her body and move it behind cover before I'm met with another barrage of bullets.

"AAAARRGGHH" I yell out as pain shoots throughout my head and I feel blood seeping out from above my left eye. My hands immediately go up to my forehead, feeling the all too familiar sensation of being grazed by a bullet. One of the bullets, miraculously, missed my head, grazing the leftmost part of my forehead, and cutting it open, drawing blood. I dive back behind the rock, holding my wound with an old rag in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding while still being shot at.

Ruffling through my bag, I find the last of my bandages and quickly start applying them over the bullet wound, wrapping them around my head and praying this is enough to hold the bleeding.

I grab my AK and get ready to fire back. I quickly out of cover to see a dozen or so of the people walking out of Wellington, all carrying automatic rifles. I can't fight everyone here. It'd be me versus an army. That's a losing fight. I'd get gunned down before I got a shot at one of them.

After some careful consideration, I make a run for it. Wellington is a lost cause, burnt to the ground. I'm on my own, probably for good this time.

* * *

 **2 Weeks Later**

It's been a couple weeks on my own. A couple weeks of scavenging, hunting, and surviving. Aside from having to do everything myself, it hasn't been too bad. Just having to look out for myself, it hasn't been the worst thing in the world. Being able to conserve supplies for myself, only having to get food for one, and only having to watch my own back.

I'm pretty sure I'm in Virginia right now. But in all honesty, it's kinda hard to keep track of where I am and where I've been. Most of this past month has been me walking through woods and abandoned towns, hunting and looting any supplies I can find. Of course, I've found my fair share of walkers along the way. Haven't been bitten, yet. And thankfully, I haven't had to put anyone down either.

Not a day goes by where I don't think about how badly I miss Carley. If there was one person I'd want by my side right now, it'd be her. Just like two years ago when we were by ourselves for some time, we could've been together, just the two of us. No group, no liabilities, just us.

It's hard to believe it's been two years since I lost her. I can still play that exact moment in my head perfectly, no matter how hard I try to forget.

But I'm gonna keep fighting. For her. I'm not gonna let her death be for nothing. I'm gonna do something that would make her proud.

As the woods I walk through begins to clear out, I see a main road come into view. Sitting on the side of the road, an old, van, the color of rust, but not really rusted. It actually seems to be in pretty good shape for a vehicle that likely hadn't been touched up on in half a decade or so. Maybe I'll have a means of transportation if I can find the keys and it has gas. I slowly walk towards it, using the trees for cover in case anyone is watching me. Nothing as far as I can tell. I slowly pull out my glock and walk towards the van, slowly looking around for any signs of walkers or other people, but the place is completely dead.

But who would leave a perfectly good van here in the middle of nowhere? Unless it had no gas, in which case it's worthless to me. But, maybe there's some supplies I can grab. Couldn't hurt to check.

I walk up to the driver side door, and take a peek inside just to see what's there. Trash, a couple bullet casings, a lighter, not much there, but maybe there's more than meets the eye. I pull at the door handle, and surprisingly enough, it opens. Whoever left the van left it unlocked. So, that might not be a good sign. Nonetheless, I poke my head inside, just to take a look if there's anything useful. But, it seems like there isn't much. My eyes shift to the gas tank indicator. It's at roughly a third of the tank. That's enough gas to get me pretty far. Now, where would the keys be?

"Looking for something?" I hear a woman's voice behind me followed by the sound of small pieces of metal, I assume the keys to this very vehicle, clanging against each other. I quickly turn my head around to find an absolutely gorgeous woman, tall, tan, slender figure, brown hair and hazel eyes. In one hand, a set of keys, and in the other, an M9 handgun, pointed right at me.

"God damn it." I mutter. My own greed is about to get me robbed. Isn't that ironic? I raise my hands in surrender, keeping my glock in my right hand, and out in the open. "Is this the part where you take all my shit?" I sarcastically ask her.

"Maybe, if you're not careful." She smiles a bit, but keeping the gun pointed at me. "You wanna explain what you were doing in our van?"

"Was it not obvious? I was doing what anybody would do nowadays. Checking for supplies, food, hell if I was lucky, maybe a ride. I'm guessing that's a big negative to any of those."

"It'd be a safe bet." She coldly tells me. "Drop your stuff."

Not wanting to be shot, I comply, placing the glocke at my feet and kicking it aside, taking my AK-47 and placing it on the ground to my left, and dropping my bag in front of me.

"Pockets too." She orders.

"I got nothing. Just pictures of my wife." I tell her, flashing the inside of my jacket to show her before putting my hands back up. "If you're gonna rob me, at least let me keep these." I say to her, noticing a slightly more sympathetic expression.

"Is there anyone with you?"

"No one. My community was attacked two weeks ago and I've been on my own since. Everything I have left is right here with me." I tell her, nodding to the bag.

"Kate? What's going on?" A man's voice calls out from the woods.

"It's nothing Javi. Found a guy going through our van." She tells him as he walks up to her. Behind him, a teenage boy and a younger girl. I'm guessing they're brother and sister. I get a good view of him: about my height, similar build, scruffy beard and messy black hair.

"Who are you?" He asks me.

"My name's Ian. Ian Sullivan." I tell him.

"So buddy, you're going through our stuff?" The man Javi asks me.

"I was doing what anyone else would've done. I've got nothing, I saw an abandoned vehicle on the side of the road. I figured I'd take a look and see what there was. Evidently I was wrong about it being abandoned, and I respect that it's your stuff, not what someone abandoned."

"He doesn't seem like a bad guy." The little girl says from behind Kate. But the boy shakes his head.

"Bullshit. He's trying to steal from us. Can't you see, Mari? He's lying."

"Gabe. Quiet." Javi turns around and tells the pouting boy.

"Look, I'm not trying to steal from you guys. Like I said earlier, I thought it was abandoned and it clearly wasn't. I'll be on my way and leave you guys alone." I assure them.

"Alright then. Get out of here!" The boy Gabe yells at me. "You better not have stolen any of my shit!"

Kate looks at Gabe with a shocked expression. "Gabriel! What is this?"

I look at him with a solemn expression. "Don't worry, kid. I didn't take your shit." I pick up my bag and my guns and start walking down the road. I sigh. I may not have gotten anything from the van, but at least they didn't rob me for everything I have left. A silver lining to all this.

I hear the pitter-patter of footsteps running toward me. I turn around to see the little girl, Mari, running to me. I give her a confused look as she stops in front of me.

"Wait. You said you had a wife when Kate had you empty your pockets. But you also said you were all alone. Did your wife… you know, die?" She asks me.

With a somber expression, I lightly nod. "Yeah. I lost her two years ago in Tennessee. We were in a gunfight with another group, and she was shot in the chest by a kid. These pictures are all I have left of her." I pull out the pictures from my jacket pocket and show her.

"Aww. She's really pretty." She says with a sympathetic smile.

I nod, a small smile forming on my face. "Yeah. She really was."

"Well come on." She tells me. "You should come with us."

My face lights up at her offer. "You sure? Your brother didn't seem to like me too much. And Kate and Javi didn't seem to care for me much, either."

"Gabe's just emotional and protective." She assures me. "And Kate and Javi don't think you're a bad guy. Especially Kate. She suggested I go after you."

I look up, past Mari and up at Kate, smiling at me. I return the smile and look back down at Mari. "You're sure about this?"

She looks me in the eye with a smile. "I think so. You seem nice. And it's not fair for you to have to be by yourself after what you've gone through. Come on."

She leads me to the van, where Kate and Javi seem to be welcoming me with open arms. Gabe, on the other hand, still doesn't trust me.

"Why is he coming? He tried to steal from us, remember?"

"He thought he was looking through an abandoned vehicle, Gabe. He wasn't robbing us. He seems like a trustworthy guy." Javi explains to the young teen, but he still isn't buying it.

"I don't like this. Not one bit."

"Kid." I assure him. "I've lost everything. I'm just trying to make it out here. If I wanted to do something, I would have. Trust me. The last thing I want to do is get into a firefight with a group that's welcomed me in."

He gives me a scowl as everyone piles into the vans. Javi drives, Kate goes in shotgun, and I get in the middle row, next to Gabe, as Mari takes the back row for herself.

I let out a sigh of relief as I dissolve into the comfort of the van's seat. Seeing that there are good people like this family still out there, letting a stranger in out of the goodness of their heart, it gives me hope. It gives me hope of a better tomorrow. That one day, this is gonna be alright.

 **Well, here it is. The big 3-0. AND the beginning of Season 3. Thank you all for sticking around with this, and to everyone who is new, I hope you've enjoyed thus far. Constructive Criticism is always appreciated. See you guys next Thursday :]**


	31. Thieves in the Night

Chapter 31 - Thieves in the Night

"Tell me when they reach the fire." Kate tells me as I look at the herd behind us through a pair of binoculars.

"Just reached it." I tell her as I continue to observe the massive herd's movement. There's a fuckton of them, and they're stretched out as far as the eye can see. Heading right towards us, we may want to get moving.

"Alright. We got about four hours before they get here." She tells me.

"You've got that figured out? That's incredible." I tell her and she blushes lightly.

"Yeah, I've figured out how fast they move. With a little math, I can figure out how far ahead of them we are, and how much time we have before we need to get going."

"Not bad." I grin as I keep looking, chuckling to myself as a walker stumbles through the fire and lights himself on fire. They don't seem to feel pain, so the fire itself doesn't do much. But, that might just make it seem a little funnier.

"We should probably get going while the kids are still asleep." She tells me as she turns to the van. I follow her and get into my usual spot, next to Gabe and behind Javi and Kate.

The past few days, Javi and Kate have welcomed me into their group with open arms, and the five of us have been traveling by van around the area, looking for supplies, weapons, ammo, anything to keep the fight going. As it turns out, Kate married Javi's brother a few years before the outbreak, and Javi's brother was Mariana's and Gabe's father. This makes Javi the kids' uncle, and Kate is their stepmother.

Javi's brother, David, who was married to Kate, was a military man, leaving Kate to care for the kids often, even though she wasn't their real mother. Javi and Kate haven't heard from David since the outbreak, implying that he's gone, which is a shame for the kids. Mariana seems to have accepted this, but Gabe is adamant that David is out there. It sounds like a longshot, but then again, so was Mia. So more power to the kid.

Speaking of Gabe, I still can't tell if he's come around to me. He hasn't been as hostile to me, but he hasn't exactly been friendly, either. He's a tough one to figure out, that's for sure. Mariana's pretty cool. For an 11 year old, she seems to be more mature than her older brother, and she's just the right amount of fun and smart you want in a kid. She's kind, and yet a little bit sarcastic when it's appropriate. She can definitely keep things light when they need to be.

For the past four years, Javi and Kate have lived off savenging resources wherever they can find them, traveling in their van throughout Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, all around the area. I soon learned that their word for the walkers is "muertos", spanish for "the dead".

"I wish we could stop one day." Kate says. "I mean, the van isn't that bad, but it must be nice to have a place to settle down in during all this."

My mind shifts to Wellington, the image of the rising flames burned into my mind. "Yeah. It's pretty damn good. But it doesn't necessarily make things easier or better. Two weeks ago, I was in a thriving community of over five hundred. Two weeks later, I'm the only one left, as far as I know. A single raid can turn a bustling settlement into a literal pile of ashes."

"Jesus man. That's terrible. Crazy how things can change just like that." Javi remarks. With a frown, I nod in agreement.

"Two years at the place, not a single incident. And yet all it takes is one push for everything to fall apart. Maybe you guys have the right idea with this van, after all."

"We like to think so." Javi says with a smile.

"Hey, I'm gonna sneak a quick smoke." Kate tells us as she rolls down her window.

Javi chuckles. "I can't believe you got ahold of weed in this mess."

My eyebrows raise. "You got weed? No fucking way."

"Yes fucking way." Kate grins as she shows me a small bag full of cannabis. "People were probably growing this shit before they realized they needed food. You're cool with smoking, right Ian?"

"Of course. How else do you think I could get through college?" I laugh a bit. In reality, I didn't smoke that much. I'd done it a good amount of times, but the NCAA was not very forgiving when it came to drug violations, and if I wasn't careful, my dream of getting into the NFL could've been struck down by a single failed drug test.

Kate giggles as she rolls a joint, lighting it with her lighter and taking a big first hit. With an exhale, she passes it on to Javi, who takes a quick hit and continues driving. Finally, it's my turn. Kate hands me the joint and I gladly take it.

"Just keep it away from the kids." She whispers a warning to me. I nod and inhale with the joint in my mouth. The smoke fills my lungs, but I overestimate myself as I cough hard.

Kate laughs once again as I hand her the joint. "Has it been that long?"

"At least five years." I shake my head. "Almost forgot how it felt to get a buzz from this shit."

"We are setting an awesome example." Javi wheezes with a smile.

"Don't judge me." Kate responds as she takes another hit. "When David told me he had kids, I told him, 'I am not changing who I am around them'. And when he proposed, I reminded him that I'm not exactly stepmother material. Case in point." She says with another cough as she passes the joint. "He was reassuring, but yeah, I could tell he was uneasy about it. I knew he'd try to get me to change. Or at least he'd think that me being around the kids would change me, you know?"

"For what it's worth," Javi says as he takes one last hit of the joint, "I think you're doing a great job."

"It'd help your case if you weren't driving around with a joint in your hand while you said that." She sarcastically remarks.

"I dunno, Kate." I chuckle as Javi hands me the joint. "Sounds like a ringing endorsement."

Kate sighs. "I used to talk shit about all those mothers who'd go on about raising their kids being the hardest thing in the world. Gabe's starting to make me think they had a point. His mood swings are just… I don't know. Some days I just wanna leave him by the side of the road."

Javi shoots her a concerned look as she coughs. "I'm joking." She assures him as he shakes his head.

"I love these kids," she continues, "But I could do with Gabe reminding me I'm not his mother every time he's pissed."

"He's just a kid." I remind her. "He's probably terrified of this world he's in right now. Mix that with puberty, hormones, and voila. A kid that just can't think straight sometimes. It's not his fault."

"Oh yeah. The second you start getting boners, the whole world starts to get dark." Javi adds.

Kate scoffs. "What're you talking about? Sounds delightful compared to dealing with bloody underwear.

She grins, shaking her head. "Christ, I gotta get laid."

"You and me both." I mutter under my breath, looking down as I take a final rip of the joint before it's finished. Carley's been dead for two years, and in all that time, I spent so long thinking about her, I never moved on. I never met someone who I felt like the way I did with Carley. I look back up to see Kate quickly look at me, flashing a smile before she looks away. Is she… is she flirting? In an indirect sorta way?

No. Maybe she isn't. I've gotta be seeing things.

Behind me, Mariana makes a groaning noise as she wakes up. "What's that smell? Ugh. It smells gross." Javi's eyes jolt open as Mariana immediately notices the smell of our weed.

"Hey! Mariana. I think we must've hit a skunk or something back there.

"I already know you guys do drugs." She tells us. Guilty as charged.

"Oh no. We're caught." I smile, rubbing my forehead while shaking my head.

"Oh my God." I hear Gabe to my left. "You're smoking in the car, too? What the hell guys?"

Javi sighs. "Alright guys. Roll down the windows before you get a contact high." He instructs us. I oblige, feeling the fresh air replace the smoke that we created.

The van goes down the road some hundred yards or so before a sign comes into view. 'C and C Auto Stop', the sign reads as Javi pulls right into a dusty road leading to the scrapyard. I guess we're gonna go on a quick supply run. Siphon some gas, hopefully.

Javi gets out first, using his flashlight to do a quick sweep of the area before signaling us to come out. I hop out, followed by Gabe, but Mariana stays back, silently whispering to herself.

"Are you praying, Mari?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Yeah," She smiles. "I'm praying I find a candy bar here."

I smile and chuckle a little more to myself. "Well, I'll keep an eye out, alright?"

"Thank you." she beams at me before hopping out and joining the rest.

"So what're we looking for, Javi?" I ask him as he looks around the outside area.

"Pretty much everything. Food, water, meds, gas, if it looks useful, grab it. Just don't get yourself killed over it."

"Sounds good." I respond as I pull out my own flashlight. To my left, I hear the unmistakable sound of a walker coming at us, and I shine my light on the source of said noise to find him. A walker with a crowbar hanging out of his cheek slowly but surely makes his way to us.

Completely nonchalantly, Javi rips the crowbar from the walker's head, and bashes it to the ground with one single hit. As it tries to get up, he swings the crowbar like a baseball bat, knocking its head clean off and sending it well out of view.

"Home run, Garcia." I remark as he grins back at me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Gabe walk off into the darkness. Apparently, so does Javi.

"Gabe! Where are you going?"

Without looking back, responding, or acknowledging Javi in any way, Gabe keeps walking.

"It never ends with him, I swear." Kate angrily says as she goes off looking for supplies. As Javi, Mari, and myself remain, I shrug and head off in search of supplies myself.

I walk around in the pale moonlight, flashing my light all over, looking for supplies and keeping my eyes out for any walkers or other unexpected inhabitants. I reach a shack near the middle of the scrapyard, old, rotted, probably doesn't have much, if anything. But it couldn't hurt to just look.

I slowly creak open the door, poking my light inside to check for any walkers. To my delight, the room is completely empty, so I walk in and take a look around.

It's a whole lot of nothing. Empty bottles, cans, and bullet casings litter the floor, but nothing of actual value. Except one, rather two things.

It's not much, but a bottle of water and a bottle of Budweiser. Both are probably warm as hell, but refreshing nonetheless.

A creaking noise comes from behind and I shine my light on the door, reaching for my handgun with my other hand.

"Oh. Hey Kate." I say as I see her startled expression in the doorframe.

"Hey. Did you find anything good?"

"A bottle of water and a warm beer. You thirsty?"

"Yeah. Can I have the water?"

"It's pretty warm." I tell her as I toss it towards her.

She doesn't say anything as she opens the bottle and takes a sip, sighing from the refreshment. I pop off the top of my beer, slowly putting it to my lips and taking a sip.

I retch as my body rejects the old, bitter beverage, much to her amusement. I spit several times to get the taste of old warm beer out of my mouth, to little avail.

"Was it that bad?" She asks me with a giggle.

"Tastes like death." I respond, pouring out the rest of it in disgust. "I should've assumed so. It's probably four or five years old."

She sighs, sitting down against a wall. "I can't stop thinking about the herd. You get caught in that thing, that's it. Lights out. Sayonara. We'd be gone in seconds."

I sit down next to her, looking out the window at the moonlit sky. "I hear you. But we should be pretty far ahead of the herd. At least enough to get some breathing room from them. If we're lucky it'll shift away and miss us entirely."

"Luck runs out just as easily as gas…" She mutters as she takes another sip. "There's gonna be a last one, you know. A last tank of gas, a last piece of food. What if this place is empty? And the next? And the next?"

"We'll just have to keep looking, then." I assure her. "And if it gets to the point where there's nothing left, then I guess that's it. End of the line. God knows I know how that feels like."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, at one point I was all by myself, walking through the snow with nothing more than my guns and the clothes I was wearing. I'd just lost my wife and sister, both to gunshot wounds, and I thought I was done. And frankly, I think I should've been done. I'd given up. Life had kicked me to the ground and I just wanted to stay there. But, life had a different plan for me. Just as I was slipping away, these people rescued me. Next thing I know, I spent the next two years with them. It was the safest I'd been in this mess. But without Carley, it just didn't feel right."

She offers me a sympathetic nod. "I get it. I lost David when this all started. I spent nights crying about it. But having Javi there for me and the kids, it helped. I can only imagine what you had to go through with your wife and sister, having to be all alone."

"I lost everything, Kate. Literally everything. If it weren't for you and Javi, I'd probably be dead. So thank you for that. I really owe everything to you guys right now."

"Of course."

"But there's one thing. Back on the road, you guys seemed fine with letting me go on my way. Yet Mariana ran out and wanted me to come with. Why?"

"Well, Mari heard what happened and felt bad. Javi and I did, too. But Mari had her mind set on at least asking, so I told her to go for it. You didn't seem like a bad guy, and you looked like you could use some people to travel with. After a few days, I can say it right choice."

I blush at Kate's compliment, although she can't really see through the darkness. "Thank you, Kate. You have no idea how much that means to me."

The two of us sit next to each other for another minute, before I feel Kate's lips plant a kiss on my cheek. I sit there, stunned by all this, but she gets up with a soft giggle, turning back at me with a wink before walking outside.

A small smile forms on my face as I rub my cheek a bit.

Shortly after, I walk out, as well, looking for any sort of supplies, when I hear Javi's excited voice from down the way.

"Hey guys! I think we found the jackpot!"

Kate, Mariana, and myself run over to where Javi was calling out to us. He stands proudly in the doorway of a trailer.

"What do we got?" I ask.

"Take a look for yourselves." He proudly shows us. Walls stocked with non-perishables. Bottled water, even some medical supplies.

"Holy shit…" I say as I take a look at one of the shelves. "This food, this is enough for at least three or four months, easily." As I look, a candy bar catches my eye. Actually, two of them. Maybe I'll surprise Mariana and Gabe with them later. Maybe Gabe'll come around to me cause of it. Or maybe he'll pull some shit out of air and try to accuse me of bribing him or something. I just don't want the kid to hate me. I snatch the bars and put them in my jacket pocket.

"But what if this is someone else's food?" Kate asks. "I mean, the entire scrapyard has been a bust, yet there's just one trailer chock-full of food and supplies? Doesn't that sound just a little convenient? I think we should get our gas and go."

"Maybe Kate's right. It does seem like someone may have been here. Although, these could've been sitting around for months. For all we know, this could've been where someone was camped at but the poor bastard got killed." Javi sorta agrees with Kate.

"Awww c'mon Kate." Gabe pleads. "Let's just stay for the night. Bunk down, eat a real meal."

"It wooooould be nice to not have to sleep in the van for a night." Mariana agrees with her brother.

"The herd is getting closer as we speak. We should get going now and beat it so we don't risk getting caught in it." Kate points out. I nod in agreement.

"The fences are reinforced, Kate. We'll be fine." Gabe argues. "Javi, can we pleeeeease stay the night?"

Javi sighs before shaking his head. "No. We shouldn't. Kate's right. That herd's gonna catch up to us and it's only gonna get closer and closer as time passes. We take what we came here for and we get out of here before any unwanted company shows up."

"Fucking great." The teen curses. "Another shitty, cramped night in our shitty, cramped van. Awesome."

"Come on Gabe. Let's at least grab some food." Mariana suggests as she grabs a packet of pudding from one of the shelves.

"I'm gonna go grab the gas. Be ready when I get back." Javi announces to the rest of us as he steps out. My thoughts immediately turn to Kate. I thought she was flirting with me in the van. And then she kissed me in the shack. Does she…. Does she have feelings for me? Or was she just being overly-friendly with that kiss? Maybe I'm just naive, but I can't tell.

"Oh shit!" She hisses, looking out the window.

"What? What's going on?" I ask her as I walk up next to her, peering through the window. "Oh no…"

Javi, held at gunpoint by 4 men. One of the men, an older white guy, holds Javi at gunpoint and starts walking him over to the trailer. Either he's getting robbed, or we were robbing them. Either way, I'm not really sure I want to find out.

I look around for an alternative exit. No doors. But, a small hatch at my feet. It'll have to do. I quickly open it, and motion to the others to go beneath the trailer. I follow Gabe down under and I quickly latch it shut as I hear the door slowly open above us.

"Don't move a fucking muscle…" I whisper to the others as we wait patiently.

Footsteps and voices above us. They ask Javi a few questions as one of them walks around. From the sound of things, we're screwed if they find us.

My suspicions are further confirmed as one of them walks outside to the other two, and we overhear a conversation between two of the men.

"Did you find them?"

"Not yet, Badger. But they're nearby. The fucker was getting nervous, I could tell."

"You want us to look for them."

"Yeah. Take a look around and bring them in if you find them."

"You got it, boss."

"Oh, and Badger?"

"Yes Max?"

"Kill them if they put up a fight. Set an example for our friend here."

"It'll be my pleasure. C'mon Rufus." The man sneers as we hear the sounds of the two men walking away leaving me, Kate, and the kids some options.

"Alright, keep low and follow me." I whisper to the others.

"Where are you going?" Gabe asks.

"We gotta stay moving. It's only a matter of time before they find us here."

"But what about Javi?"

"We'll get him. But there's one guarding the door and another inside. We can't take them on. Plus, we have no real quiet weapons. If we get into a shootout, it's gonna be loud. This is the safe bet."

"But they'll kill him."

"No they won't. They have no reason to."

"Bullshit. They're gonna. I know how this goes."

"Don't fight me on this, kid. I've dealt with enough assholes like these the past four years to know how they think. Javi's fine for now."

We all freeze as the latch slowly opens above us, and an older black man stares at us through the opening. His shocked expression meets ours, as we stare up at him in silence.

"HEY! GUYS! I FOUND 'EM!" He yells out before grunting as Javi levels him with a punch to the gut.

"Go. Now." I tell them and we run off into the darkness.

And we do, the four of us running into the night amid the commotion. I start making a break for the exit, but in the moonlight, I can just barely see human-like outlines. Their groaning is clear as day. Walkers. I pull out my glock, but in the darkness, I can barely see where they are. Kate turns on her flashlight, pointing it at the source of the noise, showing dozens of walkers coming right at us.

"Damn it. Too many. Can't shoot our way out." I curse to myself. "This way! Come on." I run towards the van, hearing more walkers to the left of us as they pour in. I reach it, opening the door as Mariana gets in. I turn back, not seeing Kate or Gabe.

"KATE! GABE! WHERE ARE YOU?" I call out to them amid the groaning of the walkers, but I get no response. "KATE!" I yell out louder, even more panicked. The louder groaning of walkers forces me inside with Mariana, or risk getting torn to shreds.

With a slam, I shut the door behind me, leaving the two of us breathing heavily, and the sounds of walkers moaning and banging on the van doors.

"Jesus… We're gonna be alright. Just gotta wait it out." I assure her, sitting down in a seat.

"What about Kate and Gabe?" She asks, worried about her brother and stepmother.

"I don't know. But we can't go out and look. The best we can do right now is wait until the walkers go away and hope to God we can find them. It'll probably have to wait until the morning."

She sighs. "Alright. We'll go look in the morning."

"Good. Good. I'm sure they made it out. Maybe they found a car to lock themselves into or something."

"What about Javi?" She asks me.

"Him I'm not so sure about. But I'm not counting him out. But like I said, we have no way to take those guys on without getting loud. And we don't know if it's just those four or if there's more. If we go into this blind, we're done."

"Oh. Ok. Has this happened to you before?"

"More or less." I reply, reminiscing about the shootout with the bandits. "Back when this shit started. Some people attacked our camp, back in Georgia. They ended up taking me, my wife, and about half of the others in our group hostage. The head guy was about to kill me before one of the group members shot him and we used the commotion to shoot our way out, relatively unscathed." I roll up my pant leg, showing her the scar left from the gunshot that went through my ankle.

She winces as she looks at it. "That looks like it hurt. Badly."

I smile, rolling up my pant leg. "Hurt like Hell. But I'm glad we had a doctor to patch me up."

"Is that how you got the other one, on your face?" She points at my forehead.

"Nah." I reply as I rub it. "This was actually a few weeks ago, when my camp got raided. A bullet grazed my head, leaving this on my forehead. Another inch to the left, and that'd be it. Lights out. I'm gone."

"Wow…" she says as she keeps staring at the scar.

Embarrassed, I look down, pulling out my glock and inspecting it. The metal still feeling smooth in my hands, even after two years of wear and tear. I've taken a lot of lives with this gun, but who knows how many more before it's my time?

"So were you in the military or something before this? You always seem like you know what you're talking about with this."

I grin, but shake my head. "Nah. Mom wouldn't dare let me join the military. I actually played football. I got drafted a few months before the outbreak by the Atlanta Falcons. I was living my dream with my dream woman. And yet, it was just taken from me."

"Well at least you're alive, right? That's gotta count for something."

"You remind me a lot of my sister, Mia. Always keeping it positive. Always looking for the good side in things. Always keeping it light and easy. She was just the kind of person you'd want around in all this."

"Is she gone, too?" She asks me. I softly nod.

"Yeah. I lost her a few days before my wife. She was shot in the head by a man that was holding us prisoner in his camp. She was the last family member I had that I knew was alive."

"I'm sorry." She tells me somberly.

A tear in my eye, I smile at Mariana. "Thanks Mari. You're a good kid. Kate and David and Javi did a good job raising you guys, especially since the outbreak. There's not a lot of good people like them out there anymore. But it's refreshing to see some good people that still have morals."

"It isn't easy. Kate and Javi are stressed out a lot. And Gabe's always in a mood. I get why, though. Some days I get like that, too."

I nod sympathetically. "No kid should have to go through this. Especially one as young as you kids were. I mean, you and Gabe are what, 11 and 13? So you were 7 and 9 when this started. I can't imagine what that was like. I was 21 when this shit started, and I remember how scared I was some nights. Just knowing that one night, my luck's gonna run out. One of these nights, I won't make it to the next morning. Every day's a new battle, and I'm gonna lose eventually. I still think that way today, four years later. But now, I don't fear death. I welcome it. I'm gonna fight to the end, but once it's time, I won't be scared. If anything, I'll be relieved. To not have to keep fighting, to be able to see my loved ones again. It almost sounds peaceful, if anything." I inhale, and slowly exhale. Looking up at her scared expression. I mentally kick myself for saying what I said. Way too deep for a kid her age.

"Sorry." I sheepishly apologize. "I should've remembered you're 11 and I probably scared the hell out of you. I hope you never get to the point where you understand where I'm coming from. I shouldn't have said that to you, but that's just how I see life now."

She continues to stare at me, wide-eyed, either concerned or curious or maybe a mix of both. I fish through my pockets and pull out a candy bar from earlier. Her eyes light up as I hand it to her. "You remembered!"

"Of course I did. I made a promise to you, didn't I?." I grin to her as I take out the other one and start munching on it.

"So you played football? That really cool. My dad was a big football fan."

"Yeah? Did he have a particular team?"

"We're from Maryland, so he liked the Ravens. He took me and Gabe to a game once. It was a lot of fun."

I smile. "Mia and my brother Mick used to love coming to my games. I was gonna get them tickets to every home game once the NFL season started. I couldn't wait to play in Atlanta, being from Georgia and all."

"Javi used to play baseball. For the Orioles. But I don't think he got to play much for the big league team." She tells me, continuing on her candy bar.

"Huh. No kidding."

"Yeah, he played a few years before he got kicked out for betting on games."

"Damn. Sounds like he lost his dream almost as badly as I did."

"Yeah, pretty much." She says with a yawn. I smile. Kid's been up all night, and has barely gotten any sleep.

"Get some rest. You need it."

"Me? What about you? When was the last time you slept?"

"I'd say about 2 years ago. I'll be fine. I'll keep an eye out for any muertos. You just get some sleep, and I'll keep you safe."

"What if those men come looking for us?" she asks nervously.

"I'll shoot 'em all dead before they can lay a finger on you. You have my word." I assure her.

I sit back in the passenger seat, looking at the early morning sky while listening to the sounds of Mariana's light snoring, and the faint sounds of walkers slowly fading away.

I guess they gave up on us, or they found something bigger and better. But all that's important is that we're safe, for now.

 **So I decided that for the next couple weeks, I'm gonna do two a week. Just until I start up college again, in a few weeks. Once college gets back into swing, I'll probably get back into the one a week. But in the meantime, hope you enjoy this twice a week. One chapter will be on Monday, and then the next will be on Thursday, and then it'll be back to just Thursdays.**


	32. Under Fire

Chapter 32 - Under Fire

The pink sky starts to crack above the treeline as night soon becomes morning. I sit back and admire the beautiful sunrise as Mariana softly stirs and wakes up.

"Wow…." I hear her whisper behind me. "It's beautiful." I smile at her awe of the sunrise before us.

"Yeah… Carley loved watching the sun rise in the mornings. Some mornings, she and I would get up super early just to watch it together on the roof. Those little things, it made the good times that much better, and the bad times a lot less bad." I sigh, looking out at the slowly rising sun. It really is beautiful. It's just one of those things that you can just sit back and forget the world is complete shit for a few minutes.

"So can we go and look for Javi and the others now? You promised." She asks me.

"Sure. Just stick close to me." I tell her as I grab my AK and glock before cracking the van door open, taking a look around for any walkers. But it's quiet. Nothing.

"It's clear. Keep an eye out." I whisper to her as I open the door fully and we slowly step out into the warm morning air. But the two of us freeze as we hear a voice.

"Mari? Mariana?"

"Is that-"

"Javi!" Mariana cuts me off as she runs out from behind the van toward her uncle.

"Oh my God." Javi smiles as he sees us appear from the van. "Am I glad to see you guys." He tells us, pulling his niece in for a hug.

"Ian helped me hide, and he watched out for any muertos or bad guys. From there it was just waiting until everything was quiet and light out."

"Thank you so much, Ian. Seriously, thank you." Javi tells me, not letting his niece out of their hug.

"No problem, man. It was the least I can do." I look past Javi to notice some other people he's with. A tall, asian woman with a bright smile on her face walks up next to Javi.

"Hi there. I'm Eleanor." She sticks out her hand.

"Ian." I gladly return it. My sights turn to the other person. A younger girl, maybe Gabe's age… "Son of a bitch…"

Clementine stares into my eyes with a fire I'd never seen in a person before. I can't say I blame her, but I'm still in shock at the fact I've ran into her again.

"Hello Ian." She snarls at me, crossing her arms.

"Clementine. Always a pleasure to run into you again." I respond with a slight smile, but she's unamused.

"Kate and Gabe, where are they?" Javi shoots me a concerned look.

"When the walkers got here, we got split up. Me and Mariana made it to the van and Kate and Gabe ran off somewhere else. My guess is they're around here somewhere."

"Well let's go find them, then." He tells us as he starts walking further into the scrapyard. We keep walking, hoping to hear one of their voices or another sign of them, until Javi stops. Ever so faintly, we can hear it. The sound of a stalling car ignition. Kate. That's gotta be her.

Javi runs toward the source of the noise, and sure enough, there she is, stuck inside a truck, attempting to start the engine. Outside, a dozen or so walkers, angrily pounding on the door, trying to get in.

I raise my rifle, ready to pop some heads, but Javi lowers it. "No shots." He warns. "We can't risk hitting either of them."

"Fair enough." I respond, putting my rifle down and pulling out my knife. "Guess we'll do this the old fashioned way."

We start walking towards the small horde, hacking and stabbing away at their head, quickly plunging my blade into skull after skull, getting the everpleasant smell of walker blood wherever it may splash on me. Soon enough, the horde that once threatened Kate and Gabe lays flat on the ground, not coming back. The coast is clear, for the time being.

"Ian! Javi! You found us!"

Kate, ecstatic, opens the door and jumps out, tripping on her fall and practically landing in my arms.

I smile and laugh a bit. "You're ok. We got you. Everything's gonna be ok."

I feel her rub up against my, admittedly, stiffening groin as she tosses me a flirtatious smile. "You happy to see me?"

Blushing, I do the one thing that felt natural in all this. I kiss her. Almost subconsciously, I expect her to pull away and slap me, but even as I pull away in event of that, it's quite the opposite. She pulls me in deeper, with more passion, as though we were long-time lovers.

"Uhhh..." We finally break from the kiss to see Mariana's confused expression. I shrug it off, and attention soon turns to Gabe, who immediately hugs his sister.

"I wanted to come after you, I swear." He admits as he sounds on the verge of tears, but Mariana just gives him a smile.

"You don't have to snot all over my shirt about it."

"I thought that was it, we were dead. We had no ammo left, so they would get in, and we'd be done for."

"There's no way I would let that happen, buddy. No way." He assures the teen, but Gabe shakes his head.

"But you weren't here. The herd showed up, and Mariana and Ian were gone, and we were waiting and waiting, and then… I was just so scared." the boy admits, as Javi puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Well I'm here now. You don't have to be scared."

"We should probably head back, we don't wanna push our luck." Clementine suggests.

"Back? Back where?" I ask.

"Prescott. My community. It's about a mile away. It's as safe a place you can be nowadays." Eleanor explains.

"Prescott… Sounds like a plan." I shoot her a smile and a nod.

The seven of us walk towards the opening of the Scrapyard, with me and Clementine at the front of the group, sheepishly, I look to the ground, avoiding eye contact.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation."

"You owe me a hell of a lot more than that, you bastard."

"That's fair. I guess I do.

"That's fair? You left me to die!"

"Look, I didn't want to leave you there. It was a shitty situation, and I wasn't thinking straight after I lost Carley and Mia. Kenny was losing his mind, and I was scared he'd come after me. I didn't want to risk that, so I did the selfish thing and ran with Mike and Bonnie. And I regretted it almost immediately. I'm sorry."

"Just stay off my bad side. I've killed people that haven't done things half as bad to me as you did. Don't think I'll get nostalgic with you. Right now, you're just another asshole in this world. When Kenny died, all I could think was how this whole thing could've been avoided if you hadn't left. If you had just stayed, it would've been fine."

"He's gone? Jesus fuck, Clem. I'm sorry." My heart drops. Kenny's really gone, this time. No coming back, no surprise appearance at a random cabin in the woods, nothing.

"Save it. He hated you after that shit you pulled."

"I don't blame him. I would, too. What about Jane?"

"What about her?"

"She gone?"

"Yeah. She's gone."

"What happened?"

"Long story. She and Kenny got into a fight that escalated, and he killed her. I'll spare you the details, but it was… gruesome."

"I hear ya. Kenny could go… over the top with it, sometimes."

"Cool!" Mariana interrupts our conversation as she bends over to pick up something, Her music player, it was lying there all this time, and she found it.

She turns back to us, with a beaming grin, just as a burst of pink and red comes from her head.

"Mari! No!" Gabe cries out at his sister, lying on the ground with a bullet wound in her head, eyes glazed forward. She's dead.

Bullets fly past us as we hear several automatic rifles firing at us from the treeline. We all duck behind cover as we hear a man's voice yell at us from the treeline.

"You fuckin' thieves! You really thought you could just waltz back in here, like nothing happened? I don't think so!"

"Javi!" Kate calls out to us from behind an old barrel. "We can't leave her."

"Kate? What're you doing?" I ask her as she runs from cover, towards Mariana's body.

My eyes widen as she keels over with a loud grunt. "Kate! No!"

"Shit…" She weakly says, crawling to another barrel for cover, all while being shot at. Gabe, without saying a word, runs to her side, while evading any incoming gunfire. He drops down next to her, behind the barrel.

"One of you, do something!" He yells to us.

"What's the plan, Javi?" I ask him, cocking my rifle.

"Get to Kate. I'll shoot at them, and when they stop to reload, use that as your chance to run to them. We'll decide what to do after that." He replies, readying his handgun. "Ready?"

"As I'm gonna be." I reply as I get ready to run for it. My opportunity comes moments later, as the gunmen in the bushes stop to change magazines, and I go for it. I dive behind the barrel as the onslaught resumes and more bullets whiz past me.

"Kate! Where'd they get you? Fuck! Stay with me." I move her hand to see a bullet wound at her stomach level, blood seeping out from a fairly large wound. My mind flashes images of Carley's death, and my body freezes thinking about it.

Without warning, Gabe picks up his sister's body, quickly making his way behind the van, to where Eleanor is. Bullets narrowly miss him and deflect off the van as he once again ducks behind cover. Javi runs up next to me and crouches behind the barrel.

"We gotta get Kate out of here, man!" I tell him, holding down Kate's wound.

"I know. I know. If you can move her I'll cover you. Just make it fast."

"Got it. Give us covering fire and then get over to us."

I wrap one arm around Kate, using my right hand to pull out my glock, and I pop out from cover, dragging her along the dirt path with my left arm, and popping shots at them with the glock in my right hand. I'm not sure if I hit anyone, but the bullets zooming past me tells me more than enough about who they're aiming at.

I gently place Kate down behind the van, right next to Eleanor. "We gotta get her out of here. She's bleeding out."

"I've got supplies back at Prescott. We can take the horses back."

Javi joins us once again, reloading his handgun. "What's the plan, guys?"

"We gotta get her back to Prescott." I explain. "We need to go. Now."

"No. If we don't end this, they're gonna come after us. We need to end this, now." Clem counters.

"Are you crazy?" Eleanor asks the young teen. "We need to get her back to Prescott, like Ian said. We stay back, we all die."

"Ian. Get my family back to Prescott. Get Kate to the infirmary. Make sure they're safe." Javi looks toward me, fire in his eyes.

"What're you doing, man? We gotta-"

"I'm gonna fucking kill 'em. Each and every one of them."

I sigh and shake my head. "Fuck. Alright, fine. Just cover us until we're out of view. Then, get your asses back to Prescott. Don't get yourselves killed over this."

"What? No! No Javi you can't! You gotta come with us!" Gabe pleads. But I try my hardest to convince him otherwise as I pick Kate up.

"Damn it, Gabe! We don't have time for this. C'mon! Kate's on a timer here!"

Dejected, he follows me and Eleanor to the horses, where she helps me get onto the horse and then sets Kate onto me.

"You ever ride one of these things before?" She asks as she hands me the reigns.

I shake my head. "Nope. Not once."

"Fantastic. Alright it's not that difficult." She tells me as she quickly explains how to ride.

"Alright. Just follow me. We're like a mile away." I watch as she gets the horse to go and gets on her way. I do the same, and we're off for Prescott.

Minutes later, a structure comes into view. A wall. A big, metal wall. I guess we're here. Prescott.

"Tripp! Open up the gates! I've got wounded!" Eleanor calls out to someone behind the wall. The creaking sound of the metal gates opening rings out for miles, but I don't care. The place looks secure enough, and we gotta get Kate to this infirmary.

She gets off the horse just inside the walls and points to a small building down the road.

"In there. Set her down on a cot and I'll get to work on her."

"Got it." I respond as I run to the small building, Kate in my arms.

"Ian…" She weakly says as I set her down on the table.

"Shhhh… You're gonna be alright Kate. Just hang on. Eleanor's coming."

The door opens up behind us, and Eleanor walks in with a variety of tools. "Ok. Let's do this. I'll need you to keep pressure on that wound. Just press down."

I quickly nod, pushing down on Kate's abdomen, forcing a pained scream out of her. My jaw locks up as I start getting flashbacks of Carley once again.

"Not you, too. Not like this…" I desperately whisper to myself as Eleanor takes over. I take one look at my hands, the amount of blood covering them from putting my hands on the wound for all of 20 seconds. "Jesus Christ…."

"There's no exit wound. The bullet is still in there, deep. We're gonna have to take it out to know how bad it is."

"Oh my God…." I hear Gabe to the left of me.

"Gabe. I need you to clean the wound with water." She instructs Gabe as he hands him the water and a cloth. As he works on cleaning, she turns to me. "When that wound's clean, I'm gonna need you and him to keep that wound as open as possible. Take a side and pull, hard."

I take a deep breath and nod. "Ok. Ok let's do this."

"One. Two. Three!"

Gabe and I pull the wound in Kate's abdomen open wider, making her pained screams that much more intense. Eleanor grabs a pair of pliers and digs into the wound to find the bullet.

She digs the pliers in a little further, pulling out a rather large bullet from the bloody mess.

"How's she look?" I ask her as she sets down her pliers. She says nothing, just giving me a grim look. Fucking Hell. That's not good.. I sigh as I look into Kate's eyes. This woman I've known for all of a week, saved my life, and has given me new hope. I'm not losing her. "Damn it…."

"Kate's bleeding inside. I'm gonna have to go in there and stitch her up. It's gonna be messy." Eleanor informs us.

I swallow, looking at how bad the bloody mess is already. "Ok. You've got me at your disposal."

She turns to Kate "I'm not gonna lie. It's gonna hurt, a lot. I'd give you something for it, but we're all out of anything that would help." She tells her.

"Just…. Do it…." Kate weakly replies, looking back at me. I give her a supportive smile, even though we both know what's about to happen.

"Keep the wound open. No matter what. Ready?"

"One.

Two.

Three!"

Gabe and I pull, more blood seeping from the wound and onto our hands. But at this point, I couldn't care less. Eleanor gets to work stitching the wound.

"Gabe. I need you to clean this up with water." She instructs the teen.

He does as instructed, taking the water, dampening the cloth, and then puts it to the wound. Kate cries out even louder as her body seizes up.

'What the hell? Gabe, that's alcohol, not water!" Eleanor exclaims.

"Oh God! FUCK!" Gabe bolts, either out of shame, or embarrassment, or fear. Whichever one, he's gone.

"Gabe!"

"It's ok." She assures me. "She was just shocked. It's not a big deal.:

"Oh good. You want me to finish cleaning it?"

"I should be alright. Get some air. I'll finish stitching her up, but we're gonna need to talk after this."

My heart drops. This is gonna be that talk, isn't it? Kate's probably done. We were too late. Those assholes did too much. Just as I start to get feelings for someone, I lose her before anything can happen between us.

I solemnly nod. "Ok. Let me know if you need anything."

I walk out, frustrated at everything. My mind races as I sit down on a bench. I can't believe it. Every single time, I join a group, and then one by one, the people I care about get picked off. My world slowly grows smaller and smaller. It's like I'm a harbinger of death. Everyone I come across, they end up dying. I couldn't even keep my wife or my own sister alive. I put my face into my blood-caked hands, the frustration overcoming me to the point where I barely even notice someone sit down next to me.

A tall, massive man, not much older than myself, sits down next to me. Dirty blond hair and a bushy beard, with kind, inviting blue eyes. He offers me a smile. "You're with that woman, Kate, right?"

I nod, still frowning. "Yeah. I'm in her group."

"How's she holdin' up? Saw you and Eleanor doing surgery on her."

"I honestly have no clue. She took a bullet to the gut, but Eleanor knows what she's doing, I hope."

"She's in good hands. Eleanor does a good job with her work. I'm sure she'll pull through."

"Let's hope, brother." I sigh, leaning back on the bench.

"Name's Tripp. I'm what passes for a leader around here."

"Ian." I shake his hand. "Looks like you've done a hell of a job here, Tripp."

"It hasn't exactly been easy, but I've surrounded myself with good people. We've built up from a solid foundation, and just we keep looking up."

"That's a damn good mindset. Surround yourself with the right people, keep looking forward. I used to think like that, before my entire world went to shit, you know?"

"I hear that. But it's all about focusing in the now. You can't let yourself get strung up on the past. Not in this world, at least."

"Yeah…"

"Well you and everybody else in your group are welcome to stay here as long as you'd like. I ain't one to turn a blind eye to those in need."

"Thanks Tripp. I might just take you up on that."

"Tripp, can I have some time with Ian? I need to talk to him."

To the right, I see Eleanor walking over with Javi himself. A smile forms on my face for the first time in a while. He made it. He really got out of there.

"Glad to see you made it here alright."

"I could say the same to you. Eleanor was just telling me about Kate." He looks at me with a less than ideal expression that says a lot.

"Yeah, how's she holding up?"

"She's comfortable. Right now, she needs rest. But she's stable, at least."

A glimmer of hope goes through my body. "Thank God. How long do you think until, you know, she's back on her feet?"

The look she gives me shatters just about all the hope inside of me. "She's stable… for now. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. She's still bleeding on the inside. It's… It's probably only a matter of time. I'm sorry. I did everything I could."

I sigh into my hands, tears of frustration welling in my eyes. But, there's nothing I can do. This is it. I'm gonna lose Kate to a gunshot wound. Seems like every woman or girl I start to care about dies to a gunshot wound nowadays. Mia, Carley, Edith, Mariana, and now Kate. It's a shitty feeling, but what can I do about it?

"Thank you. You did what you could. That's all anyone can ask for. I wish it could've been different."

"I wish I had something better to tell you. I really do. But I've done everything I can for right now. I'm sorry, Ian."

Defeated, I go walking. Trying to find something, anything to take my mind off things for some time. I find myself at what appears to now be a bar. Perfect. A drink would be perfect.

I sit down at the bar, where an older black gentleman walks up to me, I presume the bartender.

"What can I getcha, son?"

"You got any whiskey?"

"Sure do." He tells me as he pours a glass. "You look like a man that could use a drink."

"That's an understatement." I reply, accepting his drink.

"You new here?"

"Just got here a few hours ago. We were attacked, and Eleanor brought us here. Thank God for her."

"She's a lifesaver, ain't she? She quite literally keeps this place alive." He says with a chuckle.

"Yeah…"

"I'm Conrad. Me and my wife Francine run the bar here."

"I'm Ian. I always wanted to run a bar. If I wasn't playing football, I'd probably have gone for my bartending license."

"Damn, another athlete? You didn't get kicked out for gambling, too, did you?" I chuckle at his question. He clearly met Javi earlier.

"Nah. I wasn't in the NFL long enough to have any games to bet on. This shit started when I was a rookie."

"Damn. That is some shit."

"You're telling me." I reply as I finish my drink. He immediately pours me another. I could get used to this guy.

"So who'd you play for?"

"Atlanta. I was a Wide Receiver. Played for Georgia when I was in college. Grew up in Georgia, too, so that was nice and convenient."

"Damn. Getting to play for the childhood team. That's what every kid dreams for, right?"

"It was mine. Always wanted to play for them. Getting to be a Falcon was my dream. And yet, I had it, and lost it. Some shit indeed."

" _Conrad. Get to the Main Gate. We have a situation._ " I hear Tripp's voice over a walkie talkie.

"Yeah, Tripp. I'm coming." He grabs an M4 Carbine and walks out of the bar. I pick up my AK-47 and follow. This should be interesting.


	33. Out of the Frying Pan

Chapter 33 - Out of the Frying Pan...

Conrad and I reach the main gate and quickly climb to the top of it as several trucks pull up to the front. A man steps out from the driver side of the largest truck, wielding an AK-47, and has a smug look on his face.

"Knock Knock. Anyone home?" The man's voice is disgustingly familiar. This was one of the guys who shot at us, maybe he was even the guy that killed Mariana.

"We know them. Those are the freaks that brand themselves." Tripp points out, mentioning a deep red symbol on his neck, a brand.

"We know them too. That smug fucker is one of the guys that shot at us earlier. Killed Mariana and got Kate." I mention. I get my rifle up and ready. This can only end badly.

"I wish we hadn't had to come all the way out here, but unfortunately Badger here says you attacked his men." One of the other men adds, the older man from the scrapyard that held Javi hostage originally.

"Bullshit! He fired on us. Killed a little girl and shot another woman. We shot back in self-defense." Javi counters with the truth.

"How many of my friends died because of you, huh?" The man Badger asks.

"Clearly not enough if you didn't get the message. Don't fuck with us. You shot first. You attacked us. You got your friends killed. The only person you can blame is yourself, asshole!" I fire back.

"This sounds like a lot of he-said she-said bullshit." The older man says.

"Well what do you want, an apology?" Tripp asks impatiently.

"What I want is my dead friends back. But I don't think that's too likely, is it?" Badger angrily remarks, raising his AK-47. My sights are right on his head. With one pull of the trigger, I can end this right now.

"He needs to come with us. Answer to justice. Accept his punishment." The older man adds, "Man's gotta have laws. Otherwise, we're no better than the animals.

"Javi stays. You want justice? How about justice for Mariana? How about justice for Kate? Huh?" I roar at him. God I want to end these assholes so badly. Just give me a chance.

"Those gates aren't bulletproof." Badger smirks back at me.

"Neither's your skull. But I wouldn't be too troubled to test that if you think I'm lying."

"Clearly you need a little… incentive. Bring her out." Badger orders a man. He walks to the back of one of the trucks and pulls out a middle-aged black woman, hands binded and a frightened expression. I hear Conrad gasp to my left.

"Francine!"

Jesus Christ. They kidnapped his wife and took her hostage. These animals.

"You hurt her, I'll kill you motherfuckers!" He yells to them as he raises his M4 Carbine. Tripp does the same and some of the other people do the same. One of the men takes a pair of wire cutters and put them to on of Francine's fingers.

"Woah!" The older man says to Badger. "You did not tell me you had a hostage."

"Doesn't matter. We're getting what we're owed, one way or another." Badger replies.

"We could shoot 'em all right now. We can end this before it goes too far." I suggest to the others.

"No. Absolutely not. We do not shoot while my wife is down there." Conrad shoots my idea down, with good reason. But still. The urge to shoot them gets stronger and stronger each moment I look at Badger's smug look.

"You're hesitating still? Is that not enough? Ok…" He nods to the man, who almost instantly snips off a finger, as though he were breaking a carrot.

Francine screams in pain as blood spurts from her finger. Badger, clearly not bluffing, issues us an ultimatum.

"I'm gonna count down from Five. If we hit zero, I think you know what happens next. Five…"

"Javi. Please man. Just go with them. Please man. He'll kill her."

"Four..."

"He might just kill her anyway, but I think I have to play along. We can still shoot if he kills her. But I'm guessing the best way to do this without it getting bloody is if we give in. We got you if this shit goes south, alright?" I tell Javi.

"Three…"

"Damn it. Fine I'll do it."

"Two… One…"

"I'll come out! I'm all yours." Javi makes his way down to the gate and walks out.

"I don't like this, man." Tripp remarks. I nod in agreement.

"Me neither. But this is how it has to go. We don't want shit to get bloody now, of all times."

"Good man." Badger remarks as he comes face to face with Javi.

"Alright Badger, we got your guy. Let's lock him up and get the hell out of here."

"I don't wanna wait that long, Max." Badger responds as a woman points a handgun at Javi's head.

"Jesus Christ. What the hell are you doing?"

"Come on! I wanna see him pay for what he did."

"We got what we came for Badger."

"We had a deal! I came down here, just as you asked." Javi interjects.

Badger scoffs. "The deal? Fuck the deal. Kill Her."

A gunshot pops and Francine's body slumps over. My chest freezes. They actually did it. They killed her. That son of a bitch.

"Francine!" Conrad shoots and kills one of the men, and shots start flying back at us. From behind the gunfight, one of the men gets in one of the larger trucks, quickly backing it up. No. They aren't...

"What the fuck… Get down! Now!" I yell out as he floors it towards us. I spray rounds at the driver, but it's too late. He barrels into the front gate, instantly breaking through and demolishing it. Another loud crash comes from behind us soon after, as the truck tipped over, and walkers pour out from the truck.

"Walkers!" Tripp yells to us as he dispatches one with his rifle. Before I can react, I hear the clinking noise of a can rolling towards me, immediately dispensing a white smoke.

An immediate burning feeling on my skin and face comes as my eyes water. The irresistible urge to cough overcomes me and I become a coughing fit as I choke in the gas.

"Fuckin' Tear Gas!" Tripp says to me through his coughs.

Through my own coughs, I try desperately to get a message to him. "We gotta…" With another cough, I finally get it out. "We gotta get Kate out of here."

"Go and get her, man. I'll hold 'em off for you."

I stumble through the gas, my vision blurring more and more with more exposure to the tear gas. My coughs grow more violent, and it becomes near-impossible to see. Yet, in all the commotion, I can barely hear my name.

"Ian! Ian!" It's Javi. "Ian! Come on!"

"Javi? Fuck! Javi?" I feel someone grab me, pulling me away from the smoke, helping me into a car. I take the opportunity to rub the burning sensation out of my eyes, the best I can.

"I got him. We're ok." Gabe says with a cough.

"Thank you, Gabe. You might've just saved my life." I smile. Maybe he's just helping cause I was in trouble, maybe he's legitimately come around to me. I don't know right now nor do I care.

"Javi! Look out!" Eleanors exclaims. With my blurred vision, I can sorta see a walker coming at Javi, but it's almost immediately run over by another car. I hear Tripp's voice from inside.

"Head East! We'll follow you!"

Javi floors it, and we drive away from the sight of rising tear gas over the walls. Prescott, overrun. Just like that.

* * *

"Are they still following us?" Eleanor asks as Javi takes a quick look back.

"Just the other car. Looks like we're in the clear."

I sigh as Javi pulls over. Prescott is gone. All it took was some tear gas and some walkers. Who are these guys? What does the brand mean? How many of them are there? Are we fucked?

Shit, probably.

Everyone gets out of their respective cars, sans Kate. The official head count: me, Javi, Gabe, Eleanor, Kate, Tripp, Conrad, and Clementine.

Eight people. Eight people made it out of there, from a community of hundreds. It took all of an hour for a community of hundreds to dwindle to eight.

"Eleanor! Thank God! I was so worried!"

"Tripp!" The two pull into a tight embrace. "All our friends. All those people. I can't believe it..."

The conversation goes silent, and all eyes go to Conrad. "God only knows how he's feeling right now." Eleanor whispers.

"I do. I know it all too well. Losing someone you love like that, it's the worst feeling alive." I admit, my heart drops thinking about Carley and Mia. "I'll talk to him. Try to make him feel better."

I walk up to the grieving man, and I just stand next to him. "I know how you're feeling. I've felt it myself. I lost my wife two years ago. She was the love of my life. Great woman, funny, nice, smart, gorgeous, she was everything I could've wanted. I had gone two years of keeping her alive and well. Two fucking years. But one afternoon, these Russian gangsters got into a gunfight with our group. We took them all down without losing a person. All of them except for one. A kid, couldn't have been older than nineteen or twenty. He shot her after the commotion died down, caught us completely off guard. I watched as she bled out in my arms, and I was hopeless. The last person I was fighting for, gone. I just wanted to end it all. And yet, I found a way to keep fighting. Things may seem hopeless now. But mark my words, we are gonna find the people responsible. And we're gonna kill every last one of them. For Mariana. For Francine. For Prescott."

"So it's 'we' now? That's how it is? This all happened because of Javier! Francine is dead because of him!"

"Easy. It's not his fault. Javier did as he was told, and that Badger guy screwed us. Believe me. We're gonna get him. Blame Badger, not Javi."

"Well I don't know what happened between you two before this, but I do know that when HE showed up here. That's when THEY came for you, and killed my fucking wife! As far as I see it, it IS his fault!" Conrad yells as he gets in Javi's face. We hear the click of a gun from behind us, and I turn to see Gabe, pointing a gun right at Conrad, who quickly backs off.

"Gabe. Drop the gun. This is not helping." I tell him, slowly moving towards him.

"What are you talking about?" The teen asks me. "He was going at Javi."

"I know, I know. Look, just put the gun down. We do not need to resort to this. He's unarmed. There is no need for that. You kill him, you're gonna regret that shit for the rest of your life."

The anger in his face quickly turns to regret and embarrassment. "Don't fucking touch my uncle again…" He mutters to Conrad before running off.

The tension in the air dissipates, for now.

"I'll go talk to him…" Clementine volunteers, and she walks off to go find Gabe. Maybe that's for the better. Clem's around his age, maybe the two can bond and become friends. Maybe that's what Gabe needs, a friend his age.

Conrad sits down next to one of the cars and starts crying his eyes out. Poor guy. After who knows how many years of marriage, just to have it taken away like that. It's brutal. Seeing a man broken that badly, it's not a pretty sight. Not in the slightest.

But I intend to make good on my promise to him.

We're gonna find Badger.

We're gonna find his men.

And we're gonna kill every last one of them.

"We… We need to go back. Give Francine a proper burial." Conrad says through the tears. I give him a sympathetic look, but that's just not smart.

"We can't, man. Prescott's overrun. That's a death sentence for all of us if we go back. I'm sorry. There's no way we can go back."

"Well we shouldn't stay here, either. We need to go and look for a new place." Eleanor adds. I nod in agreement. We're not exactly equipped to live on the road.

"What about Richmond?" Clementine offers. "I hear there's a community there. If that's true, then they'll have food, water, walls, maybe even a hospital."

"All I want… is to find the motherfuckers who did this. They took my home. They took my woman."

"We'll get them, Conrad. But first thing's first, we need to find a new place to call home. No point in going after them before finding a place to stay. And we don't know what the situation with Kate is, so if Richmond's an option, I say we go for it."

"Alright. Fuck it. Let's go." He concedes, and we start to get settled in the cars. But, I pull Conrad aside. I have one last thing for him.

"If it comes to it, and we find them. I'll let you take Badger. Do whatever the fuck you want with him. Quick and painless, slow and painful, doesn't matter to me. He's yours to kill. It'll give you some closure. God knows you deserve it."

The older man pulls me in for a hug. "Thank you, Ian. We're gonna make that cocksucker pay for this."

"Damn right we are."

* * *

We split up into our respective cars once again. Me, Javi, Eleanor, Kate, Gabe, and Clem got in the first one, leaving Conrad and Tripp for the other one. Eleanor drives, Javi's in shotgun, and Clem and Gabe are in the back row, leaving Kate and I in the middle, her legs sprawled across my lap as she lays down, resting.

She jolts up with a rough cough, before collapsing back down. I shoot her a concerned look.

"How're you feeling?"

"With another cough, she looks at me with weary eyes. "I feel like I'm burning up. And I'm really fucking thirsty."

Javi hands me a water bottle from the front, and I hand it to her. "Drink up."

Eleanor sighs from the front. "Thirsty isn't good. How's her forehead feel?"

"Hot. really hot." I respond as I pull my hand away from her forehead. I can already tell that's not a good thing.

"Christ… That's probably sepsis. We need to get her to Richmond, ASAP."

Kate spasms again with a pained groan. "Fuck… It really hurts."

I frown, "I can't lose you. Not now."

"And… I don't want to leave you… But Ian, we both know what's coming."

"Kate…"

"We do. And this is gonna sound fucked up, but… maybe this is my chance for… I don't know, a graceful exit? Not many people get those, especially now…"

"Christ, Kate… I… I…"

"Just think about it all. Mariana died and I couldn't stop it. And then Gabe… I heard what happened when we stopped. I don't know what he's turning into… Maybe it's David. I don't know. He's not that sweet little boy I first met."

"Hey, he's still a kid. It's just the world we're living in now. Not his fault. I'm sure he was a great kid before all this. And he's gonna be a hell of a guy when he's older. He'll be a better man than I'll ever be."

"Well maybe. I don't know. All I care about is him becoming who he needs to be. And it's gonna be on you and Javi to make sure that happens." she tells me with a faint smile, but I shake my head with a bit of a smile myself.

"Oh no you don't. You're gonna be around to help, too. I'm not buying any of this 'I'm dying' bullshit. You're pulling through this one." I tell her with a smile, which gets another smile out of her.

"You might be buying it whether you want to or not."

"I already told you, I'm not losing you, too. I've already lost enough. I'll be damned if I let you go, too."

Another faint smile comes across her face as she looks me in the eyes, but soon it becomes almost a look of concern. "What do you mean by 'too'? You said that back at Prescott, when I was on the table."

I sigh, having to relive that afternoon once again. "My wife, Carley. We were in a gunfight back in Tennessee. I told her to stay down, and to stay away from the gunfight. She was all I had left, and I couldn't lose her. We make it out, unscathed for the most part, and everyone we were shooting at was dead. Except this one kid. This one fucking kid. He had just lost his sister in the fight, and was looking to get some payback, so he shot the first woman he saw. My wife bled out in my arms, and all I could do was watch. It was hopeless. And when you got shot by one of those assholes, I froze up. 'Am I really going to lose another woman I care about to a gunshot wound?'. I was drawing parallels I didn't want to make."

"Jesus. I'm so sorry. I know you said you lost her, but that's terrible. What an awful way to lose someone you love."

"I know… But that's the past. And right now, I'm gonna do what I can to keep you alive and safe. And if getting you to Richmond is what it'll take, then that's what we're gonna do. Cause I'm not losing you, got it?"

She closes her eyes and smiles. "Got it."

"You guys should get some sleep. Especially you, Kate. We've still got a bit of a drive ahead of us." Eleanor informs us. I could use the sleep. It feels like it's been forever since I've gotten a good night's sleep. I doubt tonight will be the night, but a few hours still couldn't hurt.

With nothing but the quiet sound of the car driving, every slowly fades to black as I fall asleep.

* * *

"Great. What now?" Eleanor asks frustrated as the car comes to a standstill. Outside, Tripp walks up to the driver side window.

"I have bad news." He tells us.

"Well? What's the problem?" Javi asks.

"There's some cars clogging the underpass. We're gonna need to move some of them if we wanna get through." He points at the blockade, roughly seven or eight cars jammed in together. Not impossible to manage, but it's not gonna be a cakewalk either.

"Alright. Let's get to work then." I say, getting out of the car and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"I'll keep an eye on Kate." Eleanor tells the rest of us. I give her a nod as the rest of us walk over to the cars.

"Alright…. Look. If we can move that one car out of the way, we should be able to get the cars through here." Javi points out. But there's one problem. Said car is missing some tires.

"So… How do we move it?" I ask. "Seems light enough that we could push it, but maybe there's a more efficient option?"

"We'll see. But I don't see any tow trucks around here. I'll look around."

"Sounds good, man."

Even in the quietness of the morning, I still feel freaked out about something. That feeling in your chest when you can feel someone or something watching you, that. I glance around the mossy landscape, but it's just us. No one else.

"Hey guys! Look at this." Javi motions us towards a garage door that he had just opened. Inside, as though he wished it from a genie, a tow truck.

"What are the odds?" I grin. "What are the odds that there just happens to be a tow truck here?"

"Hey I ain't questioning shit. I'm just happy we got something." Tripp remarks. Javi puts some jumper cables up to the truck's winch, hooking it up to the other car and turning it on, allowing the hook and line to come free.

Javi walks the hook out to the car, quickly hooking it onto the car's bumper and signaling us to turn it on and pull it back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see something move. In the shadows, on a rooftop. Someone or something moving quickly through the shadows. I raise my rifle, pointing it right where I saw it. I'm almost tempted to fire a couple shots.

"What? You see something?" Tripp asks.

"Yeah. I think saw something moving up there. Maybe not. Maybe I'm just seeing shit."

"Maybe man. Just be careful. C'mon let's move this car."

I push the switch, and sure enough, the winch creaks as it drags the car towards it, the car making a loud screeching noise and creating some sparks as it drags across the concrete.

I walk up to the car, to Eleanor in the driver's seat. "Be ready to go when that car is moved. We'll be right behind you."

"Got it." She takes the car out of park but her face goes from that of determination to that of shock as the other car slowly moves away. "Oh shit!"

"Walkers!" Tripp yells out, bringing out his rifle.

"Behind us!" Gabe yells to us, handgun out, ready to shoot.

"Jesus!" Eleanor yells out, right next to me. Walkers, reaching into the car, reaching towards her and Kate. I quickly run to the other side of the car, popping one with my rifle and bashing the other with the butt of it. In front, three of them banging on the hood, and dozens more pouring in from the underpass. I start firing away, fully automatic, mowing down the walkers to get Eleanor a window to get through. Finally, just as I shoot my last round of the magazine, an opening appears.

"Go! Now! Get her to Richmond! We'll catch up!" I tell her as she speeds off, running over and through multiple walkers. "Alright guys! They're through!"

"Good! Cause we've got more problems!" Tripp points out as walkers flood toward us. , popping shots at the walkers behind us. I pull out my sidearm and do the same at the horde coming from the underpass, dropping a few in the process, but their numbers prove to be too much for us. We're either gonna run out of ammo or be overrun, if we can't find a way out.

"The roof!" Javi points to a ladder on the side of an old gas station, leading up to the roof, and we follow him. Wasting absolutely no time, I climb up the ladder and turn around once I get on top, helping the others get up.

And when I pull Javi up and over, we finally get some time to breathe, take a look at the situation around us. The once quiet and barren landscape, now quite literally flooded with walkers.

"God Damn…" Tripp mutters out loud.

"So… what now?" I ask, turning to the group. "We've got an assload of walkers around us, not nearly enough ammo for the job, and no resources whatsoever to hold out on."

"GOD DAMN IT!" Tripp yells out furious. Clem walks over to him, trying to calm him down.

"Easy, Tripp. We're gonna be alright. Just calm down."

"Calm down? I'm not gonna fucking calm down! Eleanor is out there, all by herself, right now."

"We wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't for Garcia!" Conrad argues, and from there, arguing and fighting breaks out among us, just a complete mess.

Amid all the commotion, Javi's voice is the one that stands out. "Hey. Hey guys. Shut up for a second. There's someone up there." He points to an upper level of a broken-down building, right where I saw someone moving minutes ago. I guess I wasn't seeing shit after all.

"Shit… Everybody get down." Tripp orders as we hide behind different walls and metal equipment on the roof.

"Hey buddy!" I call out to the mysterious person. "We don't want any trouble. We're just trying to pass through."

We get no response. Just confusion. Javi couldn't be seeing shit too, could he? He breaks from cover, slowly walking onto a ledge and making his way across to the building, pistol drawn. I drop my old AK-47 magazine for a fresh one, finally reloading after the previous ordeal.

Javi finally crosses over, using a couple of wood planks to get on top of the other building where we last saw our stalker, disappearing behind some walls, and we don't hear or see from him.

"Seems quiet. Let's move, see what's up. I'll take point" I whisper to the rest. Without any sort of protest or disagreement, I hop up onto the ledge, slowly pacing down the ledge, little pieces of rubble falling from the overpass above me.

But I keep breathing, refusing to look down at the walker horde below that would undoubtedly tear me shreds in a matter of seconds with one false step. "Just keep moving… Juuuust keep moving…" I play it in my head on a loop. Just keep moving.

I finally reach the end, making my way up to the roof to find Javier and another man, I presume our stalker, struggling over a handgun. I pull out the AK-47 and point it at the stranger, ending this.

"Drop the gun, dude." Without any further resistance, he complies and raises his hands, offering his gun to Javi. He turns to me and I get a good look at him. Tall, kinda lanky, long brown hair and a long and thick beard.

"Is he one of them? Is he one of the New Frontier?" Tripp asks, pointing his M4 at the man while the others surround him.

"New Frontier? Nah I'm not with those guys. Look, you've got this all backwards." He responds, making sure to get a look at all of us.

"New Frontier? Are those the assholes that attacked us at Prescott?" I ask Tripp.

"And the assholes that shot Kate and the little girl." He answers my question. "Those guys."

"Look, I'm not with them, see?" He pulls down his coat to show his neck, completely clean. No brand. "I'm on my way to Richmond myself, just like you folks. I lost contact with some good people there when the New Frontier took over." I feel my heart skip a beat at this news. The New Frontier.. is in Richmond?

Clem gasps at this. "What did you say?"

He looks back at her, confused. "The New Frontier. They took over Richmond. Don't tell me you guys didn't know that, did you?"

"Fuck me…" I curse quietly as we all look at each other. We sent Eleanor and Kate there. They could be dead already. FUCK!

"Alright everybody be cool." Javi assures us. "If he's heading to Richmond, maybe he can help us as well."

"Sure." The man tells us before pointing up to an old tunnel at the overpass. "There's an old tunnel that runs under the James River. You follow it through, and it's a straight shot into Richmond. But, since Javi here says you're good people, maybe you could lower your guns first."

Conrad scoffs. "Lower them, my ass. We're gonna tie you up and make sure your story checks out."

"That's really not necessary…" The man objects.

"Lower your guns." Javi tells us. I look at him, not sure about this, Tripp and Conrad are in the same boat.

"You sure about this? We just met him." I ask.

"Yeah. I think so. He doesn't have the brand. I think we can trust him."

"Alright… So. What's your name?" I turn my attention to the man.

"Sorry. Forgot to introduce myself. My name's Paul. But most of my friends call me Jesus." Fitting. He certainly looks the part.

"I'm Ian. You've already met Javi, clearly. The rest of us are Tripp, Conrad, Gabe, and Clementine."

"Pleasure to meet you all. We should get going if you're friends are going to Richmond. C'mon."

He leads us up onto another ledge, leading into a building that led to the tunnel. As I walk in, I feel a whoosh of hot, musty air blast in my face. Dust, cobwebs, littering the room. It hurts to breathe from all the dust in the air, but we go deeper inside, walking through countless rooms and corridors.

As we shuffle through a narrow hallway, we finally come up to a door, labeled 'To Tunnel' in faded red.

"Guess this is it." I say as Jesus opens the door, leading into the dark tunnel. We all gather by the door, except for Javi and Clem, who stay back, talking about something amongst themselves.

Impatiently, Conrad clears his throat. "You guys coming?"

Without answering, they both follow as I hear Tripp shush him.

"Quiet! Y'all hear that?"

We all go silent, and what Tripp hears suddenly becomes very clear. A noise that barely sends shiver down my spine anymore. Walkers. A lot of them. Their raspy groans bouncing off the walls, echoing all around. Javi turns on a flashlight, trying to get a view of how close they are.

Sure enough, walkers are all over the place. In front, behind, down the way, we're surrounded. Javi bashes one's skull in with his flashlight as more start coming to us.

"AHHHHHH!" Gabe screams out to my left, a walker pinning him against a wall and another slowly coming towards him. Jesus, wasting no time, runs toward him, leaping toward the wall and then kicking the one walker's head clean off with a single kick. He then grabs the other one, flipping it over his shoulder, and pinning it to the ground. With my gut instinct, I raise my foot and stomp down hard on its skull, shattering it into thousands of pieces and getting bits of dark purple brain matter all over my boots. The whole thing looked like it were straight out of a cheesy kung fu zombie movie.

Shotgun blasts ring out from the tunnel and we all turn around to see Conrad blasting any walkers he can see. Not a care in the world, just shooting any of them that come near him. Corpses fly back as the horde slowly comes closer. He may not give a damn, but every walker around here knows where we are now. So more of them are just gonna keep coming.

"This way! Come on!" Javi tells us as he starts running down the tunnel, shooting down a couple walkers in our way. Not wanting to be walker chow, we all follow for roughly fifty or so yards, before we're stopped by another obstruction.

A crashed train, sitting right there, blocking the tunnel. What the fuck is that doing here?

"No one ever mentioned a train…" Jesus mutters to himself.

"We better find a way around it before we become dinner." Conrads says, turning around to get a look at the walkers.

"Maybe we can find a way through." Javi suggests, trying to open it.

"Well? Does it open?" Tripp asks him.

"I'm trying. It's budging a bit."

"Well get it open." I tell him. "That horde is getting closer." I raise my AK-47, ready to start mowing down walkers. I don't have enough bullets, maybe two mags at most, but it can buy us time if I get good shots.

"I got it!" Javi triumphantly announces to us as the door opens, the group getting inside. I'm the last one to get in as I dive inside, slamming the door behind me. Clem leans on it to hold it down.

"Daylight!" Tripp marvels."Thank fucking God!" I look ahead and, sure enough, light pours in from the front. An opening, maybe even the actual exit. Just a way out of the tunnel.

"Javi and I will block the door and find something to barricade it with. The rest of you go on ahead to scout out the area. Ok?"

"Sounds good Clem. Make it fast." I agree as I get up, and walk with Tripp and Jesus toward the light, into the daytime air. I look behind me for a second… but no Conrad or Gabe. Where'd they go? I shrug it off and keep walking. They couldn't have gone far.

I step out into the early afternoon, shielding my eyes from the bright sunlight. Tripp and Jesus slowly walk around the area, checking for walkers or New Frontier or any other assholes. But the area seems pretty quiet. Almost too quiet.

"How's it look?" I ask the two men. Jesus turns to me with a smile.

"Richmond's still a little ways away. The area itself is alright. I'm getting a funny feeling, though."

"How so?"

"I don't know… Just… A funny feeling. I haven't been in Richmond since the New Frontier took over."

"Well keep your eyes open. We don't know if they've got troops set up anywhere. We could get ambushed out here pretty damn easily."

"'Course." He says with another small smile. This man, Jesus. He seems a little… different. In what regard, I can't tell. Kinda mysterious, kinda quirky. I don't know. But, he seems trustworthy enough. And if he knows the area, it can't hurt to have him around.

I hear the four of them climb up out of the darkness behind me. But almost instantly after he gets up, Conrad pulls a gun on Clementine.

"Woah! What the fuck, man?"

"Conrad, why the hell do you got a gun on Clementine?" Tripp asks a little more calmly than I do.

"She's New Frontier. Has been all along." Conrad announces to the rest of us. Confusion and shock overcome me. Clem? New Frontier? Really?

"They're gonna be real happy to see her again. I'd put money on it." He adds.

"He's not wrong. This could be useful." Jesus agrees with his idea. "If your friends are in Richmond, we could use her to gain some leverage over this whole thing."

"Well let's get going. The sooner we can make sure Kate and Eleanor are safe, the better."

"Too right, man." Tripp nods to me. "Let's move out."

Minutes later, we come to an intersection, and Jesus points to his left.

"The gates are this way. If your people are here, this is where they would've ended up."

Even as we get closer, the streets remain quiet. No New Frontier, no walkers, just silence. It's a little unnerving, and I know I'm not the only one that feels this way. Tripp uneasily looks around at the windows and rooftops, checking for any danger.

Javi freezes in place, before ducking behind an old truck. The rest of us do the same without making a noise.

"You see anything? What are they doing?" Tripp asks.

"They left. We're clear."

"Must be our lucky day." I sarcastically remark.

"Don't get cocky now." he warns me.

"Hey… That's their car!" Gabe exclaims, before Javi shushes him.

"Keep it down, Gabe. There could still be New Frontier around here."

I take a good look around before taking point, crouch-walking to the car, glock ready for any surprises. I reach the car, making sure to look inside.

Lying in the back seat, Kate. Right where she was when Eleanor drove off.

"Kate?" I ask quietly. No response. Without hesitation, I open the car door and climb in.

"Kate? Kate?" I slightly nudge her, staying cautious, yet optimistic.

Her body twitches a little bit, before her eyes open. Her beautiful brown eyes meet mine and I can't help but smile. She's alive.

"Ian…?" She weakly says, giving a faint smile.

"Yes…" I grin in relief.

"Could really use something to take the edge off right now…"

I laugh a bit at this. "You and me both."

She tries to sit up on her own, and I help pull her up to take some of the strain off, and I help her out.

"Kate!" Gabe and Javi both exclaim as they run to her side. "Are… Are you ok?"

"Come here." She smiles with a little more life in her eyes as she brings her stepson and brother-in-law in for a hug.

"Where's Eleanor?" Tripp asks her, concerned.

"She… She went ahead, to go and get help. I haven't seen her since."

"Fuck. They must've got her, then." Tripp sighs.

"Jesus, how much further to the compound?" Javi asks him.

"A couple more blocks, at most."

"Alright then." I pick Kate up in my arms as she nuzzles into my shoulder. "Let's go."

"What's your plan, man?" Tripp looks at me, confused, although it should've been fairly obvious.

"We're gonna knock on their front door. And we're gonna get Kate the medical help she needs. We'll break down the fuckin' door if we have to."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

A big metal gate comes into view, and in bright red, the New Frontier insignia painted on. Guess we're here. New Richmond.

"We're here, Kate. We're gonna get you in." I assure her.

"Ian? If they can patch me up, I think we should go somewhere new. How does a trip to Norway sound? See the Northern Lights, the sky all green and purple, white snow falling all around us…"

"Norway? You got it." I tell her with a grin. A trip to Norway? A change in scenery wouldn't suck. I wouldn't be opposed to going there for a bit, if we can.

We make it to the front gates, empty, but I highly doubt no one's here. Javi makes sure someone hears us. "Hey!"

The old man, Max, from the Prescott attack comes strolling out to the top level, shocked to see us.

"You again? You must have some kinda death wish…"

"She needs medical help." Javi pleads to the man, Max.

"And you have one of our people." Tripp adds.

"So? What's your point?"

"Look, man. Your people have committed some atrocities these last few days. But I saw you back at Prescott. You weren't on board with Badger's idea. You didn't stop it, but you weren't on board. I see that you're maybe not a bad man after all. But I'm not convinced. Maybe you can start redeeming yourself for that by letting us in, and helping her out."

"And what if I don't?"

"Well, you can live with the fact that you sent a woman that was bleeding out away. You can live with that shit for the rest of your life. You and I both know you don't want that. You and your men already killed a little girl, but are you gonna let her die, too? Are you?"

"Ian… I'll handle this." Clem volunteers as she walks forward. "Hello, Max."

"Clementine? How long's it been?"

"Not long enough." She responds by flipping him off.

"So she's got you mixed up in all this, eh? What's she to you, a friend?"

"Look, Max. We're trying to do right by Kate. If you don't let us in, she'll die, and her blood'll be on your hands. You can prevent that. The ball's in your court."

"Alright, kid. You have my attention. But I'd be lying if I said I was convinced. But if you all lower your weapons, I'll see that as an act of good faith, and maybe we can talk about getting your lady friend here some help."

"Do it, guys." I tell them, not hesitating. "For Kate."

"Not a chance. This is bullshit." Conrads hisses to me.

"It might be a good idea to play along here. For now." Jesus agrees with me.

"Put 'em down. He's right. We didn't come this far to not get Kate the help she needs." Javi drops his first, kicking it out in front of him. The others do the same, and the gate slowly creaks open. Several armed troops walk out, holding us at gunpoint, before a tall, tan, man comes out, rugged as hell and a No Bullshit expression on his face.

"What the hell's going on out here?"

"They said they weren't here to hurt anybody, boss, so I had them drop their weapons to prove it, and-"

"Oh my God…" The man's expression turns to that of pure shock. "Javier? Gabe? Kate?"

"David?"

"Dad?"


	34. And Into the Fire

Chapter 34 - ...And Into the Fire

David? Wait. This is the David?

Javi's brother, David? Gabe's father, David? Kate's husband, David?

What the fuck? She said he was dead.

"Javi? Is that really you?" David asks in awe of the sight of his brother.

"David, you have no idea how good it is to see your face."

Gabe runs from the middle of the group to hug his father, catching some of the troops off guard and pointing their rifles at him. He immediately orders them down.

"Weapons down! This is my family!"

"Look, man. You gotta let us in. Kate, she doesn't have much longer." I tell the man, as his attention turns to Kate.

"Jesus... Kate!"

"David?" she weakly looks up at her husband.

"I'm here, honey. I'm right here. What the hell happened?" He barks at me.

"She was shot. Our doctor took the bullet out but she's still bleeding. We need your doctor. She's not gonna last much longer." I explain to him. He gladly takes her from my arms.

"Thank you all for getting her here." David turns to Max. "She's coming in!"

"But she hasn't been checked, David."

"This is my wife, Max. Do you want her to die?"

"Nope. I didn't say that."

With that, David turns and walks inside. Gabe tags along, but the troops stop the rest of us.

"Sorry, but the rest of you have to go straight to quarantine." One of the women explains to us.

"What for?" Tripp asks, impatiently.

"All newcomers have to go to get checked for bites, and then they have to answer a few questions. Our doctor will take care of the two of them, but the rest of you need to come with me to the quarantine holding area. It's how we keep it safe for everyone here." She continues.

"Alright. That's fair." I shrug. "C'mon guys."

The woman and a few of the troops lead us through the city, and by the looks of things, they seem to be doing pretty well for themselves. Big, strong walls, plenty of buildings, people walking around, smiling and laughing. It almost looks… normal.

She leads us to an old building near the center of town, down some stairs inside, to a room that appears to be an old locker room. In the dim lighting, we see Eleanor, sitting and waiting, perfectly fine.

"Tripp!" she gets up and hugs her friend.

"Eleanor! Oh God, I'm so happy to see you. When we saw the car without you in it, I didn't know what to think." Tripp says as his voice breaks a bit. Is he… Is he crying a little bit?

"Our fucking car broke down, so I came here to get some help. Next thing I know, this happens." She explains to us. "I've been so worried about Kate. I told them she needed a doctor, and someone told me they'd look into it. Did they get her?"

"They've got her." I assure her. "But they definitely didn't go out to look for her. We found her in the car when we got there."

"What?" She looks at me, shocked. "But that's crazy. I told them she was dying."

I shake my head, "Clearly they don't care as much about keeping others alive. But we got her in. The doctor's looking at her as we speak. Turns out one of the head guys here is her husband."

"Husband? She's married? But you-"

I cut her off. "Yeah. I know. She's married. I found out just now, too."

"Wow…"

Tripp laughs a bit. "Eleanor, you ain't even heard the worst part. These people are new Frontier. And her husband, the guy that's one of the higher ups, is Javier's brother!"

She looks back at him in shock. "His brother? What?"

"You heard right. His fucking brother. I didn't even know you had a brother, Javi." Javi shrugs back at Tripp.

"Maybe this is a good thing. We've got somebody on the inside. Maybe David can vouch for us and help us out."

"Vouch for you, maybe. He doesn't know the rest of us. Why would he vouch for us?" I ask him, but I see Jesus pipe up in the back.

"Javi could be right, you know. One word from David, and his men came to take Kate to the hospital. Maybe he'd be willing to help us, since we helped get her here."

"Maybe… But you also gotta remember he's a higher-up in the New Frontier. What they did to Prescott, he could've had a part in it, for all we know. But I could just be playing Devil's Advocate here." I suggest, but that last part strikes a nerve with Javi.

"No way David had anything to do with that. He's a good man."

"I'm sure he's great, Javi. But he is a higher-up here. AND Max is one of his men, so there's a good chance that son of a bitch, Badger, was, too. Maybe he was involved, maybe he was calling the shots, maybe he had nothing to do with it. I'm just saying, the possibility exists."

"Well, family drama aside," Tripp begins. "I'm in no position to want to start making nice with any New Frontier. I know you didn't have much stake in Prescott, Javi, but they burned that shit to the ground for no fuckin' reason. Hell Javi, they killed your niece! Shot Kate! For all we know, Ian could be right, and your brother was behind it! Shit, even if he wasn't behind it, if he knew about it, and didn't try to stop it, he's still responsible in my eyes."

"I already said, no fucking way was David a part of that. That's not the kind of man he is."

"Clem? You were New Frontier. Did you know David?" Jesus asks her. She turns to us with a scowl on her face. A single nod comes our way.

"Yeah. I did. If I'm being honest? He's not a good guy. It wouldn't shock me for a minute if he was behind Prescott."

The door creaks open, and David himself walks into the room, with a stern look on his face. "Hey."

Javi turns to his brother. "Hey…" I take an opportunity to size David up. Taller than I am, more muscular, New Frontier logo branded on his neck. Jesus Christ, this man is massive. If he ever finds out I kissed Kate, I'm fucked.

"I could've been here sooner, but I had to take care of something. Come on. Kate's been asking for you. It's not kind to keep a lady waiting." He says, shooting his brother a grin.

"What about the rest of my friends?" Javi replies, nodding toward the rest of us

"They're not invited." David coldly responds as he turns around and starts walking out. "Come on."

"Sounds like the rules don't apply to everyone here." Tripp snidely remarks. David turns back and looks Tripp dead in the eyes.

"That's right. Some get out early, others have to wait a long fucking time."

"Just drop it, Tripp. We'll get out soon enough." My attention turns to Javi. "Go on, man. See Kate. We'll be fine."

David smiles at me, "Smart man. Knows what it's all about." With one last look at all of us, David and Javi walk off, and I let out a sigh.

"Jesus, man. You nervous or something? You sounded pretty confident around David earlier." Tripp asks, eyeballing me.

"Dude. I kissed his fucking wife. And she kept it going. I have feelings for his wife. If he finds out, I'm dead meat."

"Wait, you kissed Kate? Ohhhhh man. You're boned. Like, really fucking boned."

"Yeah, and it hasn't been just that. We've been flirty with each other in the past, too, and shit, I don't know. Maybe she's got feelings for me, too? But with David back in the picture, how does that add in? Fuck…"

"Man I don't even know where to start with this." Conrad remarks. "You better hope he hope he doesn't find out."

"No kidding. Jesus Christ."

The door creaks open, and a bald black woman walks in, scanning the room before pointing at Eleanor. "Are you the doctor?"

Eleanor looks around at us before nodding. "Uh, yeah. That's me."

"Come with me. Dr. Lingard wants to see you."

"Uhm.. Ok." She slightly hesitates before walking off with the woman, leaving all of us confused.

"God damn it. What are these animals doing with her?" Tripp asks angrily, throwing his fist into a wall.

"Easy Tripp. Maybe they see potential in her. You said it yourself, she does really good work." I assure the man, but I'm not sure that did the trick entirely.

"Yeah, but she's my friend. And I'll be damned if my friend is stuck working for these bastards."

"What options do we have, man? Just wait this shit out, and we'll be outta this cell. With any luck, they'll either let us in or kick us out, but we'll be alive."

Tripp scoffs. "As long as these assholes are breathing, I don't know how sure I can be about staying alive. You know what they've done, man. And I wouldn't guess that Prescott was the first time."

"Well we can't exactly do much else. We have no weapons, we're grossly outnumbered, and we're in a place none of us are really familiar with. Our hands are kinda tied here. We just gotta play along."

"Fine, man. We'll play along. But I don't like where this is going."

"Me neither, but it's the only option we got."

"It better fuckin' be." Tripp responds as I go and lay down on a bench to collect my thoughts.

* * *

An hour or so later, the doors creak open, and several armed guards walk in, one of them carrying a duffel bag.

"Let's go." One of them says to us.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"The committee rejected you guys, so you're getting sent back out. David's wife and kid get to stay, and so does the doctor, but the rest of you gotta go, including the brother." He explains to me, and I shake my head in disbelief.

"Fuckin' bullshit." I hear Tripp mutter to my left. But, they have the guns. So, we're really in no position to argue with them. Disappointed, we follow them out of the building, through the streets, and out the gate. The six of us, including Javi, are shoved outside the gate, before the black woman from earlier walks out to us, dropping the duffel bag at my feet, the remaining four or five guards keep their AK-47s raised at us, as if we're really in any sort of position to attack them.

"David packed this." She informs us.

"He did? But-" Javi says, before quickly being shut up.

"Start walking." She cuts Javi off. "Now."

"Hey. What about Eleanor?" Tripp walks up to her face.

She answers this with a hard shove. "I said, start walking."

"Eat shit. I wanna know what you're doing with my friend." Tripp says, getting up in her face once again. This time, she isn't so generous, sending a single hard punch to the face that knocks him down hard on his back.

"Holy shit…" I mutter as I look at her. She notices my glance and looks me dead in the eyes.

"Do not fuck this up." She snarls at me before turning back in. Without turning around, she gives a little more advice. "There's a settlement a few miles west of here. Don't come back."

With that, the gates slam shut, and we're stuck outside, with just a duffel bag full of whatever supplies Javi's brother decided to generously give to us.

"What the hell, man?" Tripp gets up with a groan. "Seems like your moment alone with David didn't go as planned."

"Shit went South, alright? We're not done here." Javi responds, opening the duffel bag David provided.

The first thing Javi opens up to? An aluminum baseball bat. I guess David's got some jokes. But on the bat, a map, tied around the barrel. Maybe David is trying to help out, after all. Javi pulls out the map and tries to make sense of it.

"What else do we got?" I ask Tripp as he rummages through the rest of the supplies.

"Not a whole lot. A flashlight, some batteries, a couple handguns, a couple knives, no food."

"We'll make do for now." Javi tells us. "We're gonna need to head North. David marked a point on the map for us to go to, and it looks like if we head back North, we'll get to the place he wants us to be."

We divvy up the supplies given to us, and I end up with a handgun, and a six-inch hunting knife. Not an awful haul, given what we had.

"We all set?" Javi asks the rest of us as he puts away the map.

"I'm ready. Let's see where you brother's taking us."

The six of us walk off into the night, led by the light of Javi's flashlight and the faint moonlight.

* * *

"So you and Kate kissed, but she's married to someone else. How the hell did that happen?" Tripp asks as we make our way down the road.

I shrug. "Well, I guess I kinda gotta start from the beginning, cause that's the only way this'll make an ounce of sense." I begin as Tripp shoots me a nod. "So, I lost my wife a couple years before in a gunfight, and I had spent just about all the time since that in a community over in Ohio, this big place called Wellington. But a few weeks ago, that community was attacked and pretty much burned to the ground. So, I spent a couple weeks on my own until I stumbled upon Javi and Kate's van on the side of a road. Being low on supplies and everything, I looked through it to see what I could find, but next thing I know, I'm getting held up by the one and only Kate." I chuckle a bit, and so does Tripp.

"Kate held you up? And that's what happened when you guys first met? I wouldn't exactly call that love at first sight." He says with a hearty laugh. I shake my head, still smiling.

"So anyways, she lets me go with all my things and I pretty much expect that I'm on my own. But, her stepdaughter, Mariana, comes running after me and tells me to come along with them. I wasn't so sure, but it turns out Kate and Javi wanted me to come with, too. So, I wasn't about to turn something like that down. Flash-Forward a few days, and we're in a scrapyard, looting for supplies, and she straight up kisses me on the cheek when we're talking. I wasn't sure what it was about. But we become separated because of those New Frontier assholes and a herd of walkers, so I don't see her and think she could be gone. But that morning, I found her, and she fell right into my arms, so I just kissed her. It felt… natural, you know?"

"And now we find out that her husband is back in the picture, just as things were starting to get good. Shit, man. These things are always a mess, ain't it? Just when you think you've got it figured out, something new always finds a way to surprise you, doesn't it?"

"You're telling me, brother. Shit is as complicated as it can be." I sigh. Damn, I've been blueballed by life before, but this is probably the worst I've ever had it. A woman I catch feelings for, I lose her because her husband, who had been presumed dead for four years, comes back into the picture. Fuck this.

"You know, Eleanor and I were once… a thing." Tripp mentions to me. I shoot up a raised eyebrow. Tripp and Eleanor? I wouldn't have guessed. "But, that was a while ago. Things never worked out. And it just sorta fell apart."

"Damn man, sorry to hear that. But at least you guys are cool with each other. I've seen some nasty breakups before. I'm just glad I never had that myself."

"Yeah, we just accepted that it wouldn't happen. We just let it all dissolve away, it was a lot less painful than it could've been."

I nod as Tripp explains it to me. "That's good. If we didn't have Eleanor, shit, I don't know where we'd be right now."

"She's great, man. I wish the two of us worked out and all, but having her around is always good. I owe her a lot."

Jesus stops, dead in his tracks, and the rest of us do the same.

"What are you seeing?" I ask him as he runs a little into the woods, looking out further away.

He quickly shushes me, and the faint sound of growling walkers comes. "Walkers. Maybe a quarter mile away. Heading the same direction we are."

"Well let's get a fucking move on, then. I'm not trying to become walker food." Tripp suggests, and the general consensus agrees. Getting torn to shreds by walkers is not high up on my list of things to do, and I strongly doubt anyone would disagree.

As we walk down the road, the sounds of walkers groaning becomes louder and louder. It's only a matter of time before some finally come into view. Six of them, just standing in the road, turn to us as they notice us approaching.

"I got this." Jesus cockily tells us as he throws his knife with flawless precision into the skull of one walker, killing it instantly. Retrieving it, he turns around and sticks the blade into another walker's skull, dropping it. He continues this as more walkers start approaching, and the rest of us pull out weapons. Javi takes point, bashing one walker's head in with the baseball bat, as I take one from the flank, my blade creating the ever pleasant squishy noise when I jab it into the skull.

Javi manages the shove of the last walker he was struggling with and knocks its head clean off with a single swing. Sans the faint sounds of walkers in the distance, a refreshing silence comes over the area.

"Kinda convenient that David, a higher-up in the New Frontier, sends us to a place in the middle of nowhere that also happens to be where a herd is going, isn't it? Sounds like he's trying to get rid of us." Tripp points out as we keep walking down the road.

Javi groans. "Drop that shit, Tripp. He's my brother."

"Javi…" Clem speaks up. "You can't trust him. I learned that the hard way. I didn't want to need people ever again, but the New Frontier welcomed me in, with this." She pulls her sleeve up, showing the brand. "They promised they'd help him. That was all bullshit, spewed from David's lips."

"Who's 'him'?" Jesus asks with a concerned look. But my jaw drops when I realize who she was talking about.

"Clem… Was it Alvin Jr.?"

She nods. "Yeah. It was AJ. After Kenny died, I spent all my time on the road, watching after him, getting us food and water. But he got sick a couple months ago, and I joined the New Frontier, because they offered us food, water, medicine, and protection. But when I tried to get him the help he needed, they said no. They had the medicine, but they said no. They could've helped him, but that bastard David was more concerned about keeping who it could've saved down the road. Well I had someone that needed it then! But he wouldn't hear it. So, I had to take the medicine myself. Someone had to get AJ that medicine, so I did what I had to. I gave AJ the medicine. David caught me, so he booted me from the group. Only me. Not AJ. He separated me from the only thing I had left to fight for in this world, so I fucking hate him for it."

"Jesus Clem… That's awful. What the fuck… How could he do something like that? You've been there for him since the day he was born."

She sighs, shaking her head. "That's what I get for trusting other people." With that, she starts walking, and the rest of us do, too.

In the distance, an old building comes into view. Fenced off, run-down, and abandoned. Why did David bring us here?

"We're here. This is where David sent us." Javi announces to us. My focus sets on the half a dozen walkers staggering around the front. Of course. More of them.

"More walkers? I'm getting real sick of these fucking things." Tripp mutters to himself as we walk over to them, weapons drawn. Each of us dispatch one with ease, and soon enough, we step inside the metal fence. As Javi turns around to close it, we're greeted with a quiet "Oh shit."

One look at what he sees, and 'Oh Shit', indeed. A herd of walkers that would make the Savannah herd from four years ago blush. A literal torrent of walkers, from right behind us. How they snuck up on us like that, I have no idea. But that's more than enough to break down a metal fence. And we don't have nearly enough bullets for this. AND we won't possibly be able to stab our way through. So, we're fucked. Unless we can get inside, of course.

Javi tries the front door, but of course, it's jammed. Cause why wouldn't it be, right?

"Fuck! Try the garage door!" I tell him, as if that'll really work.

But Javi tries, and he pulls up as hard as he can. It budges slightly, not quite enough for any of the adults to fit through, maybe Clem could. Despite his efforts, the door won't budge any further by itself.

"Javi... Pick up the pace, man. This fence ain't gonna hold much longer." Tripp warns as he executes a walker pushing on the fence.

"I got something!" Javi announces to us as he smashes a walker's brains in. He pulls out a metal rod, and sticks it into a car jack, lying right next to an old, run-down car.

"Whatever you're gonna do, Javi, do it fast!" Jesus yells to him as he kills a walker trying to climb up the fence. "This fence isn't gonna do it much longer!"

Javi wheels the jack over to the door, and with a creak, he uses the jack to pry the door open further, and after a few tries, it's open wide enough for us to fit through.

"I got it, guys! Come on!" Javi tells us as the fence finally collapses.

Clementine is the first one to slide in, soon followed by Jesus, and then Javi himself. Not wasting anymore time, I dive in, sliding on the smooth concrete into what appears to be an old warehouse. Tripp rolls in right behind me, and I hear Conrad pop a shot at a walker before he joins us as well. With a single strong kick, Javi kicks the jack out from underneath the door, and it slams shut with a loud bang. The six of us breathe heavy sighs of relief that we got in, unscathed.

I take some more deep breaths, putting my hands on my knees. "God damn… That shit was too close.

"No kidding." Conrad remarks as he gets a good look at the walkers trying to get in from outside. They know we're here, they just can't get through the door. So we all just look at each other with looks of relief to the sound of walkers banging on the garage door. So long as that holds, we'll be fine.

Outside, gunshots pop. And walkers start dropping. And from the otherwise locked door, we hear David's voice.

"Hey. I'm here! Let me in!"

"David!" Javi exclaims as he rushes to let his brother in. But Clem draws her handgun, holding Javi up.

"Don't you dare let the fucking baby killer in." She warns him as she fires a shot at the door, intentionally missing Javi. "Don't you fucking dare."

Despite her threats, Javi opens the door anyways, and David barrels in, panting and letting out a sigh. As he finally catches his breath, he immediately turns to look at the rest of us, namely Clementine.

"Hello again, Clementine. How did you get caught up in all this?" He asks as he flashes a sarcastic smile.

"Ask your brother." She snips back at him.

"She's trouble." David warns his younger brother, but Jav shakes his head.

"She's with me. I owe her my life."

"I'm not gonna lie, man" Tripp begins. "She told us some pretty rancid stuff about you. Y'all left her to die. Took her kid from her. That's kinda fucked up, man."

"We kicked her out. We had rules, and Clem broke them. I would've done the same to anybody." David glares at Clem.

"To anybody? Anybody? You broke the rules for Kate and Gabe." Javi argues to his brother.

"And I'll accept the consequences. Unlike her." David shoots another look at Clem, but Clem refuses to look back at him, just staring at the ground.

Without looking up, Clem softly asks David a question. "Did AJ suffer?"

David himself looks down. "No. I wouldn't have let him…" He pauses before looking up at Clem. "But I didn't have to worry about that. He lived, Clem. AJ… He pulled through."

"AJ's alive? Holy shit… But Clem said he was dying." My jaw drops at the revelation. The kid's alive. AJ is alive and well. How? David turns to me with a small smile.

"The boy bounced back. He was stronger than we thought. It was nothing short of a miracle."

"You're lying." Clem says to David, "How am I supposed to believe you?"

"Clem, I'm telling you the truth. Please."

"Where is he? Where is AJ?"

"I don't know for sure. I gave him to Dr. Lingard. He took care of him. He'll know where to find him."

"Then I'm going back. I have to find AJ."

"None of us are going anywhere until those walkers clear, Clementine. I don't know if you noticed, but there's hundreds out there."

Without saying another word, she glares at David and walks off. Javi turns to his brother.

"So, what's the plan?"

"We store a vehicle here. We have some provisions and some other supplies. I came here to get you set up."

"And?"

"And to say goodbye. I don't want you to worry about Kate and Gabe. I'll take care of my family from now on. They'll be safe with me."

"David, this is a send-off? You're just seeing me on my merry way?"

"Do you think I want this, Javier? Do you think I want to send you and your friends away like this?"

"Well you're not doing too much to stop it!"

"I don't see any other way right now! Look, I'm sorry, Javi. I don't want to do this to you. I really don't. But the committee, they decided. My hands were tied. If it were up to me, we'd all be together as one big, happy, family right now."

"Fuck, man." I sigh, looking up to the ceiling, down at the ground, and right into David's eyes. "Well, when you get back to Richmond, back to Kate, tell her I said thank you. She helped me when I needed it most. I owe her everything. One day, I want to be able to tell her in person."

David smiles. "That's my girl. I'll tell her for you, kid. Don't you worry. What's your name?"

"Ian."

The door slams open, and several walkers pour in. Jesus swiftly runs up and kicks them out the door before Tripp leans up against it, holding them back for the time being. "Get something to buffer it. Something heavy!"

Javi and David run behind an old shipping crate, slowly pushing it towards the door, eventually slamming it shut for good, no walkers able to get in this time.

"Wait a half-second…" Tripp whispers as he walks behind the crate. "Where'd you find this?"

"Over there" Javi nods toward where he and David pushed the crate from. Around it, tons of other crates, probably full of supplies and shit.

"Show me." Tripp instructs as Javi starts walking further in. Eventually, he shines a light on one of the crates.

'Property of Prescott Airfield' it reads in black text. Prescott Airfield… Wait….

"What the hell is all this?" David asks as we walk around further. Although, it seems pretty obvious.

The New Frontier wasn't just attacking communities. They were raiding them. Attacking them and looting for supplies. They destroyed Prescott, and then took the supplies, leaving nothing but a shell of a community.

"I don't know how all this got here." David remarks, like a teenager who was caught with weed in his bag. "We keep only keep some supplies here for scouts."

"Bullshit." Tripp accuses. "Your men attacked my community and then took all the supplies we had. You guys even took Phantom Punch!" He angrily points to an old arcade game sitting in a corner.

"Not just Prescott." Jesus adds. "There's things from a bunch of other communities here. Communities that got raided a while back. There's stuff here from the Kingdom… Oh my God…"

I look further down the corridor, more crates. "Hey, Javi. Toss me your flashlight." I tell him as he does what I ask. With a click, I turn on the flashlight and start walking down the corridor.

Jesus wasn't lying. This is much bigger than just Prescott. Plenty of communities supplies, sitting on shelves. How many communities have these assholes raided?

My eyes widen as I reach the end. Dozens of crates lining the walls. In dark green text, I read what each of them say.

'Wellington, Ohio'

"Holy shit… Wellington… What the fuck?"

"What is it, man?" Tripp asks as he walks up behind me.

"Wellington, that was the community I was staying at. Son of a bitch. The New Frontier destroyed it. They must have. These assholes went out to fucking Ohio just to raid a settlement."

"Jesus… This really is bigger than just Prescott."

I stare in disbelief at the crates. The sights of what I saw that night come back to me. Molotov cocktails flying over the walls, striking people. Innocent people executed. Men, women, children, senselessly killed. Edith… My friend, gunned down as she and I fled. I almost died myself.

This isn't survival. It's murder. This community is thriving because of the murder of others. Carver's community, the things he did, that all has nothing on this.

Who knows how many other communities these people have burned to the ground? How many lives were taken?

I walk back to the group, and Javi notices my grim expression. "What'd you find?"

Without immediately answering, I look around the room. "The community I was a part of, Wellington, these assholes raided them, too. They burned it to the ground and killed everyone. Prescott, The Kingdom, Wellington, the New Frontier is going out of their way to raid people. If I had to guess, they came into Prescott with the intention of raiding. They didn't want Javi. They wanted to kill everyone and then take the resources."

"What the hell… I never ordered any raids. You have to believe me, Ian. I run a tight ship here. I would never order raids on other communities. That's not what the New Frontier stands for. That's not who we are."

"Maybe…" I look at him with a skeptical look. "Well if it's not David, then someone else has to be calling the shots. Maybe it's one of David's men. Maybe it's another higher-up. But based on how many were at Prescott and how many were at Wellington, I have a hard time believing a higher-up isn't involved."

I immediately shut up as we hear the faint sound of voices coming from further into the building.

"Look how many of them there are already. The goddamn herd's nearly on us. Hurry the fuck up already!"

"We wouldn't even be in this mess if you hadn't gone all trigger happy on David's family." I recognize Max's voice respond to someone, I think Badger.

"Fuck them. I'd do it all again just to see that little bitch's head pop again." Badger responds as the three men come into view, carrying duffel bags. It's Badger, Max, and the older black man from the scrapyard.

"God damn, you are one stupid son of a bitch, ain't you?" Max asks Badger, and the third man laughs a bit.

"You're only just realizing this now?" He asks as the three men put down their bags.

"We are on the warpath." Max begins. "The last thing we need is people catching wind of this."

"Look at all this shit, we're frickin' rolling in it" Badger exclaims as he pulls out a bottle of liquor and a handgun.

"It's a shame you can't take it with you." David walks up to the three men, handgun raised and pointed at Badger. With a single punch to the face, he knocks Badger to the ground and kicks his handgun to the side.

"David?" Max turns to us, shocked.

"I thought better of you Max, I really did." David snarls at him as he slowly gets closer.

"Come on, David, we're a unit. There's no need for this." He responds to his higher-up as he pulls out his handgun and fires a few rounds quickly, missing all of them. As we all duck behind cover, the three of them scatter. Jesus and Clem go after the man whose name I don't know, the black one, and Javi runs off after Badger, leaving me, David, Conrad, and Tripp to deal with Max.

David, Conrad, and Tripp, all fire shots at Max as he sits behind an overturned table for cover, probably reloading his gun. During all this, I take the opportunity to sneak up on him, using the shelving units for cover. I don't want Max dead, not yet at least. If we can get him, Badger, and the other one alive, I want to get some information out of them. I'll force it out of them if I have to. I want to know who's responsible for all this, who was involved. I'll kill every last one of them. For Wellington, for Prescott, for Mariana, for everyone who has been killed, this ends now.

Finally, I get past Max and I get an opportunity where he's not looking in my direction, and no one's firing at me. So, I go for it. I run up, and tackle the older man to the ground, hitting him directly with my shoulder and jarring the gun from his hands. As the two of us land on the floor, I make sure to pin him by the shoulders. He offers some resistance, but to little avail. I overpower him easily, and he concedes.

Above me, some glass shatters, and I look up to see Javi's head and upper body forced through the window. Fuck, looks like Badger's got the upper hand on him. Let's change that.

"Tripp, David, keep this son of a bitch right here. I'm not done with him, yet. But first, I need to have a little talk with our friend, Badger."

"Do what you gotta do, brother. We'll keep this shitbag nice and ready." Tripp assures me as Conrad and I walk up a flight of stairs to the office.

As we reach the office, I open the door to the loud blast of a shotgun, and the sight of Badger's body flying across the room, slamming into some filing cabinets to the right. He sits up, groaning and feeling at his abdomen, a whole bloody mess. He's done.

"Fucking Garcias…" He hisses. "You took my god damn guts out." He says with a cough and a groan.

"You got what you deserve, you filthy bastard." I walk up to him and sock him hard in the mouth. "Now you get to spend the rest of your days in Hell, you piece of shit." I throw another punch to his jaw, and he spits blood at me.

"I'll see you there, fucker. Got anything you want me to tell that little girl I popped, or do you want me to wait for you?"

"Don't you dare talk about Mariana that way, motherfucker." I throw a final punch at his jaw, before he spits some more blood towards me.

"Fuck her, and fuck you, too. Fuck all of you." He says with a victorious smile before his body starts to slump over.

"Oh no you don't." I tell the dying man as I slightly reach inside his wound, pinching down hard on his insides, and his body jolts awake, a shriek of pain comes out. "I'm not done with you yet. You're not leaving me that easily."

"You're not getting shit out of me."

With that, I pinch harder, getting another shriek out of him. "Who's calling the shots? Who's in charge of the raids? Answer me, motherfucker!"

All he does is spit in my face. "Fuck you."

Fuck it, he won't break. He's got nothing to lose now. I walk away, giving the nod to Conrad, who walks up to Badger, and gives him one nice hard kick to the head.

"This is for Francine..." He whispers before pulling the trigger, and a smirk forms on my face. Badger is dead. We didn't get the information we needed from him, but maybe Max is willing to cooperate.

He better hope so.

I walk back down the stairs to see David holding Max at gunpoint. Max, hands raised in surrender, looks a little bruised. David or Tripp must have roughened him up a bit during our ordeal with Badger. Maybe he just softened him up for me.

"He's all yours, Ian. Do whatever you want with him." David sneers to me as he kicks Max to the floor one last time, for good measure.

"Gladly." I coldly reply as I pull out my blade, running it over Max's cheek, splitting it open a bit.

"Today's your lucky day, Max! You get to help us out. You're gonna tell us who's calling the shots with the raiding, or we're gonna kill you. Understand?"

"Stop… Please…" He weakly lets out. I kick him in the ribs and David points the gun at his head again.

"Raiding, Looting, You betrayed Richmond, Max. You betrayed who we are." David says to Max.

"Come on, David. This IS Richmond."

"The fuck does that mean?" I ask as I put the blade at his throat, his expression noticeably more nervous.

"I ain't got nothing to say!" He timidly says, moving back away from the blade, and I grin a bit in his face.

"You really want to go down this path? It didn't go to well for your friend, Badger. I can do this all day until I get the information I want from you. I've got all day. Hell, I'll do this for the rest of my life if it means I'll get what I want from you. You think Badger was a messed up motherfucker? Buddy, you haven't seen shit. I've got nothing left to lose, here. And you know what they say?" I ask him as I raise my blade to his other cheek. "There's nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose. So I'd suggest you start talking, before I start making you talk." I tell him before slicing open his other cheek, blood dripping out both cuts like tears.

"Ok! Ok! I'll talk!" He concedes, and I kneel down in front of him once again.

"Well? We're waiting. Start talking."

"It's not like we were doing this by ourselves…" He admits to me.

"I didn't think so. Who's calling the shots? Was it Badger? Was it David? Or was it someone else? Tell me, Max…"

"Joan was in on it. We were acting on her orders. She said we needed it to survive. I wanted to let you in, David, but she said you'd never go for it. I… I'm sorry…"

"It is too late for sorry, you backstabbing shit bag." David says to the man, ready to kill him.

"Please! Don't kill me! I'll help you! I'll tell everyone in Richmond about this. Just please, don't kill me. I can even help you folks get back inside, I swear!"

I glance around the room to see how everyone else feels about this, but I come to a conclusion myself.

"Fine. Today's really your lucky day, Max. You're not gonna die today." I drag him up to his feet before drawing my handgun and pointing it at his head. "But only because our credibility dies with you. Don't think we're doing this out of the kindness of our hearts. Once we deal with Joan, we'll decide what to do with you."

Before Max can respond, David whips in the side of the head with his gun, knocking Max out cold. I look back up at him, and he just shrugs.

"I needed that." He simply replies.

I shrug back. "I don't give a shit what you do with him. We got what we needed. Let's get back to Richmond."

David binds Max's hands, and picks him up as the rest of us walk out of the warehouse, he leads us through a side exit, avoiding the walkers that were still scattered outside. He kicks open a gate, leading us out of the compound, and we gather by a truck. Jesus and Clem join us once again, the third guy not with them.

"Where's Lonnie?" David angrily asks Jesus, but Jesus just shakes his head.

"Gave us the slip. He hightailed it back towards Richmond."

"Son of a bitch." David curses. "He's gonna warn Joan."

"Wait… Wasn't there a third one of them? Where's Badger?" Clem asks.

I give her a smirk. "I'd imagine he and Carver are enjoying a nice beer in Hell right about now." I remark. She flashes a smile back at me.

"I need to tell my people about what we found here." Jesus tells us as he starts to walk off.

"What about your missing friends?" Javi asks.

"I'm not holding out much hope. And I don't have much time keep looking. This is more important. They'd want me to get home and warn the others, so that's what I'm gonna do."

"You sure? We could use the help."

"So do others. I won't forget about you folks. You have my word."

As Jesus walks off, David walks up next to us. "We need to get back to Richmond. And we're gonna need some allies. Lingard and Clint are our best options. If I can get to them before Joan does, then maybe we have a chance." He turns to Javi. "I know I was ready to send you away before, but I need your help here. Can I count on you? I can't do this myself."

"Yes. We'll help." Javi replies as he crosses his arms. "But I expect first-class treatment when this is over. No more quarantine for me or my friends. Just the red fucking carpet."

"Of course." David nods. "Whatever you need. Let's just get this done."

"That bastard, Lonnie, is gonna raise the alarm if he gets back to Richmond before we do. They'll be waiting for us. Any ideas, David?" I ask.

"Yes. There's a back way we can get in. It'll avoid any sentries. We can take Badger's truck there. We'll need to double time it."

"I doubt he'll mind." Javi remarks as David gets in driver side. The rest of us hop into the bed of the truck as it slowly starts up. Within a matter of seconds, we're off for Richmond. This is about to get messy, I can already tell.

 **The longest chapter of this story so far, and it mght end up being the longest overall. with college starting up soon, I might go back to one chapter a week, but I'm still not sure yet. Anyways, hope you've all enjoyed thus far. It's hard to believe that this story is almost done. We're pretty much at the end of Episode 3 already. This is gonna be finished before we know it. Thanks to everyone for reading, and for those of you that have left constructive reviews. As always, constructive reviews are always appreciated. Thanks :]**


	35. Unfinished Business

Chapter 35 - Unfinished Business

David pops open the sewer grate above us, as the bright morning sun shines on us once again as we rise from the darkness of the old sewer. David's "back way" was really an old sewer system that just happened to have a couple points in which we could enter the city through manholes.

As we all slowly make our way out of the sewer, we join David behind an old shipping container, the seven of us huddled out of sight.

"I'm thinking that we should split up. A group this big can't exactly sneak around. Especially if they're expecting us." David suggests, and the rest of us nod.

"Eleanor's in there. I'm going after her." Tripp says, and no one dare objects.

Conrad even nods. "I'm coming with you."

"Lingard brought her to the hospital. That'd be your best bet." David tells the two men.

"Kate'll be in there, too, Javi. That's where you'll need to go to get her and Gabe. From there, bring her to my house. It's the one with the raven on the hitching post. We'll all meet up there, after I pay a little visit to Joan. Try to stay out of sight. They know who we are, and they'll be expecting us."

"Got it. We'll see you at your house." Javi responds to his brother as David and Max walk off to wherever they're meeting Joan. Tripp and Conrad move up to scout out where we should go.

"I'm with you, Javi. Let's go get Kate and Gabe." I say to him, and he gives a nod of confirmation.

"What about you, Clem?" he asks.

"I'm going after AJ… and then I'm getting the hell out of Richmond." she responds as she dangles a set of keys. The keys to the truck. How she got those, I'll never know. But I'm not gonna bother asking.

"I guess I do owe you a vehicle…" Jav concedes to her, and she smiles, but then it turns to a frown of concern.

"Keep an eye on David. He may seem like he's playing nice, but I'd still watch your back." She warns him.

Javi looks at her, questioning, but before he can respond, she runs off, in search of AJ. Before long, Tripp and Conrad come back. Tripp, a determined look on his face, lays out a plan for us.

"So David says to hang a right up at the corner. It seems clear so far. After that right, we'll be there."

"Let's move." Javi steps up and takes point, slowly moving up before crouching behind an old taxi cab. We all do the same as voices come from down the road.

"So you know Javier Garcia? That guy that played shortstop for Baltimore?"

"That Javier Garcia? That's the guy who we're looking for?"

"Yeah. That Javier Garcia. Anyway, it sounds like some paranoia bullshit. The guy's a fucking ballplayer." I look up to see the two men conversing right in front of the hospital. There's no going around them. We can't shoot them down, either. So we need a distraction.

Lying right beneath the back tire, a baseball sized rock, just laying there. Convenient. I hand the rock to Javi. "How's your throwing arm, shortstop?"

Without a word, he takes the rock and throws it at a nearby transformer. It falls t the ground with a loud crash, sparks flying everywhere.

"Holy shit!" One of the men yells out.

"Jesus, man. You couldn't have gone for a window or something?" Tripp asks Javi.

"Hey, it did the trick." I point out. The men are gone. They must've went to get someone to handle the transformer. So now there's no one guarding the hospital.

The four of us run down the road, to the building the men were guarding just then, quickly going through a set of double doors. Javi, knowing where Kate is, leads the way down several long corridors, before stopping at a room on the right. He peeks inside, before turning back to Conrad and Tripp.

"You guys find Elle. Tell her we're moving Kate."

"Sounds good. We'll meet you back here."

With that, Tripp and Conrad walk further down the hall, looking for Eleanor, leaving me and Javi. The two of us walk in, to see Kate resting on a bed, and Gabe sitting in a chair, looking out the window. He's the first to notice us.

"Javi! Ian!" He rushes over to give his uncle a hug as Kate sits up. "We thought you were… I was super worried."

"Hey…" I say as I walk over to Kate, whose face brightens.

"Hey…" She says back to me with a smile as she pulls me in for a hug. "We thought you were gone. Kicked out. Dead. We didn't know."

"Dead?" I grin as the hug dissolves. "You can't kill me."

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" Javi asks the two of them. Neither of them say a word, they just shake their heads.

"They told us you were denied entry. What does that mean?" Kate asks us.

I look her dead in the eyes. "It's true. They didn't let us in. We're on borrowed time right now. And we don't have a lot of it. This place, the people who run it, they're ruthless."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Prescott, that wasn't the first attack they've done. Plenty of other communities are being raided by these people, all in secret operations. This place is built on the blood of others. All this medicine Lingard's been giving you, I'd bet the house they took it from someone else by force."

"What the fuck…"

"We've gotta move." Javi tells Kate and Gabe. "Ian's right. We've got no time."

"What about my dad?" Gabe asks.

"We're meeting him at his place, buddy. Don't worry." Javi explains to his nephew.

"Excuse me?" Kate interjects.

"David has a house in town, Kate. We're gonna meet with him there, and then talk future planning."

"Wait, Ian, Javi, this woman, Joan, came by. I felt like she was sizing me up. It was creepy. She implied David was in trouble, like he was no longer in charge. She kept saying Gabe and I didn't need to worry, but it only made me worry more. I got a bad feeling from her."

"Kate… Joan was calling the shots on the raids. She was behind Prescott. And… she may have been calling the shots on the ambush in the scrapyard. She manipulated some of David's men to do terrible things. You cannot trust her." I tell her, to her shock.

"She was behind all this?"

"Yes. And David's confronting her about it as we speak."

"He's what?"

"There's going to be a major power struggle here. It's gonna get messy. But we need to get you to David's house for the time being. We'll keep you safe."

"Ian… we can't stay here. This is not our fight. We already lost Mari because of these people. Now, this whole place is going to become a fucking war zone."

I sigh, looking out the window. "Look, I want to keep you all safe. That's the one thing I want right now."

"Then you know we can't get involved!" She angrily cuts me off.

"We're already too deep in this to back out, now. David's gonna need our help with this. But we're gonna make it right." I tell her.

"What's going on?" Eleanor's voice cuts us off. "Tripp said we have to move to David's house."

"We're not doing that." Kate rejects our plan. "We're getting the fuck out of Richmond before it's too late."

"Getting out? You shouldn't even be sitting up. You are in no condition to travel."

"Eleanor, we need to get out of Richmond before fucking David gets us killed in this Civil War he's about to start." Kate argues.

"Eleanor's right. We need to go to David's house."

"Ian!"

"No, Kate. She's right. You were within an inch of your life the other day, with a bullet in your gut. If we can keep you in a safe spot where Eleanor can keep taking care of you, then that's what we need to do. It's the only option we've got now, with your condition."

Kate sighs. "Fine. We'll go to David's. But this is a terrible idea. I still think we need to get the fuck out of here."

"I've got a gun in the room they gave me. Sounds like we might need it." Eleanor remarks as I help Kate up. She and Tripp walk out, presumably to where Eleanor is staying at.

Kate uses me for support as we walk out of the hospital, down the road to David's house, cutting through alleyways and back streets to avoid being seen.

"You should know this is the sorta thing David lives for." Kate warns me. "A brawl. When we were married, the only times I ever saw him truly happy was when he was talking about being at war. When the world went to shit? That was probably the best day of his life. He gets to live life on the front line. It's probably like Christmas every morning for him."

"Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe he'll be more useful if he knows how to handle these sorta things."

She frowns and looks forward. "Just because he likes it doesn't mean he's good at it."

"That's a fair point." I reply as the house comes into view. The raven on the hitching post is a dead giveaway. Outside, the bald black woman that originally kicked us out sits on the front doorstep, looking impatiently out at us.

"Took your damn time."

"Nice to see you, too, Ava." Javier sarcastically replies. She walks up to us, nudging Javi.

"Come on. We have to go."

"Wait…" Javi questions her. "David told us to come here."

"He's talking to the others right now." She informs us. "Trust me… Shit's about to fly. He's gonna need our gotta get on the move."

Javi sends her anther confused look. "But what exactly can I do? They've already kicked me out once. They'll just kick me out again."

"You'll have to just use your words. And if that doesn't work, you use your gun."

I place my hand on Javi's shoulder. "I'll keep them safe. Go talk to Joan and everyone else. Don't worry about it."

As the two of them walk off, he turns back to us, for one last thing.

"Stay safe. If this shit is really going to hit the fan, then it's gonna get messy really quick. Try not to get yourselves shot while I'm away, alright?"

I give him a smile and a nod. "I should say the same for you. You're the one getting into the thick of it, here."

He simply grins back to me. "You're telling me."

He and Ava finally walk off as the last three of us walk inside David's house. For a higher-up here, it seems like a pretty quaint house. But, it's good enough for us right now. Gabe leads us up a flight of stairs, and through a door into a bedroom, probably a guest room. I walk Kate over to the bed, setting her down on the gray bedspread. I set down my gun on the nightstand and collapse into a chair. Finally, an opportunity to relax.

"So… what now?" Gabs asks me, sitting at the foot of the bed where his stepmother rests.

"Now… we wait. For Eleanor, for Javi, for David, for Ava, anyone really." I rummage through some old magazines sitting on the nightstand, before an April 2010 edition of ESPN: The Magazine catches my eye. On the cover, Jimmy Clausen, a quarterback from Notre Dame that was in my draft class. He went to Carolina, I think, so I would've gotten to play him twice a year, if I made the Falcons' final roster. I open the magazine and start thinking about what could've been.

NFL Draft 2010: The best nights of my life. Seeing my dream pan out, with my dream woman, all I had ever wanted, and yet here I am, staring at a column by Stuart Scott, feeling as though life is mocking me. It's a shitty feeling. But four years have gone by, so I can't even feel bad for myself. I've done what I could with the cards I've been dealt. Here I am, former NFL prospect now preparing for a Civil War in which we are both outnumbered and outgunned.

Even despite this, I feel happy. I can't begin to explain why, but I feel good. Somehow, with all this shit going on, I can just tell that it's going to be alright. Maybe it's cause I have feelings for Kate, maybe it's cause I know I have pretty much nothing to lose. In all the confusion and commotion that's going on, though, my sights couldn't be clearer. Avenge Wellington, Avenge Prescott, Avenge Mariana, at all costs.

"Ian…" I hear Kate to the left of me. I turn to see her staring back at me, kinda concerned.

"Yeah?"

"David, he's… He's changed since I had last seen him, four years ago. He's not the man I fell in love with. He's just… he's lost his mind. And I'm not sure I can trust him anymore."

I raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, David is dangerous. And I don't trust him to accomplish what he's trying to without getting us all killed. I still think we should've left, but I see your point that we're too into this as is. But I don't feel comfortable having David take charge. I just don't."

"So what do you think we should do about it?"

"Well for starters, I want to get the hell out of this house. I get a really bad feeling from this place. I think we should move to Eleanor's. I'd feel better off."

I smile to her. "I'll see what I can do. I'll talk to Eleanor when she gets back. But you should get comfortable for right now. I can't promise anything. This might be our best option for right now."

Downstairs, I hear the door open, and a few people walk in.

The first voice I hear, Eleanor's, calls out to us. "Hello? Kate? Ian? Javi? Gabe? Anyone?"

I walk downstairs to see Eleanor, Tripp, and Conrad, sitting down, I suppose waiting for us.

"You're here." Tripp says as he's the first to notice me. "What about the others?"

"Kate's resting upstairs. Gabe's… somewhere. And Javi is with David. They're trying to settle this before it becomes a full on warzone here. But I'm telling you guys right now, this shit's about to get bloody." I explain to the three of them.

"Well what can we fuckin' do? We've got a couple handguns, they've got automatic rifles and explosives. Not to mention we're outnumbered like a hundred to one." Tripp asks of me.

"David's trying to rally some support from his people. But that's another thing. Kate doesn't trust him. She thinks he's lost his mind, and he's gonna get us all killed."

"Shit, man. And she's his wife. What do you think?" Conrad asks.

I give him an unsure look back. "I don't really trust anyone here. After what happened with Prescott and Wellington, I have a hard time trusting this place. Who knows what else these people are hiding? I've dealt with cannibals, methhead bandits, and all sorts of psychopaths, but this is something else. Can't be too careful with this."

"Well, I ask again, what can we do here? Sounds like this is a great way for us to get killed."

"Kate wants to get out of here before it's too late. But I think it is too late for that. I think we're already too deep in this. I think, at least, we could move her to a better place. If she's not trusting David, then something could seriously be up here."

"I've got a place in town we can move her to." Eleanor volunteers. "It's only a couple blocks away, and we can stay there until we figure out what to do."

"Perfect. I'll let her know."

I go back upstairs to see Kate sitting up in bed, and Gabe reading the magazine I was looking at earlier, looking kinda fascinated about something.

"Good news, Kate." I announce to her. "Eleanor's got a place and she said we can move you there. We should get going while we still can."

"Awesome. Thank you." She says back to me as I walk towards her bed, helping her up and out of it.

"But what about my dad?" Gabe whines once again as Kate and I start walking downstairs.

"One thing at a time, Gabe. Let's get Kate to Eleanor's place before we decide what to do next."

"Shit… Do you think he's ok?"

"I don't know. He's talking with Joan and the others. We can't know for sure."

I help Kate downstairs, and Eleanor walks up to us to check on Kate.

"How're you feeling? Any new pain or anything?"

"I'm fine… Can we get to your new place?"

"Sure. Let's go."

* * *

A few blocks away, towards the outskirts of town, Eleanor leads us to an apartment building, and her apartment, on the fourth floor, seems like a great spot to hold out at until this shit blows over or blows up. It's got a view of the town square, and it's also relatively secluded.

The door creaks open and Ava walks in, looking mildly surprised.

"I thought I saw you guys come here. David's house wasn't good enough?" She sarcastically asks us.

"Well, since David's on everybody's shit list here, we thought it might be a safer option if we move her to a less low-key spot."

"That's smart. Cause David is really on Joan's shit list now." She tells us, and Gabe looks at her with shock.

"What? What happened? Is my dad ok?"

"I don't know. But he and Javi confronted Joan about the raiding. So Joan had the two of them thrown in a cell. I don't know what's going on now, but I assume that's where they are." Ava explains to us, and Gabe fiercely looks back at her.

"We've gotta get them out. What if they get killed? We have to help them."

"Gabe," I remind him. "Most of us aren't even supposed to be here. If we get spotted, we're fucked. We can't just be wandering the streets looking for them. We do that, we get gunned down or thrown in a cell ourselves."

"Well we can't just let them fucking rot in a cell!" The young teen fires back at me. I'm taken aback by his response. I wasn't expecting something so… fiery. But, passion doesn't necessarily make things right. I still stand by what I said. We can't go out looking. Unless…  
"I can take the boy out." Ava proposes. "I can show him where they're being held. But that's all I can do. I can't help you break them out. Joan still thinks I'm on her side with all this shit, and I can't blow that. But if you can think of something, all the power to you, kid."

"Alright… Let's go." He adamantly replies with fire in his eyes. Looks like the kid's starting to toughen up a bit, and this gets a bit of a smile out of me. Ava leads him out the door, and soon enough, the two of them are off to rescue Javi and David.

* * *

"Elle, I've been thinking long and hard about this and... I really think we should be… a thing." Tripp admits to Eleanor from the other room, and the sigh I hear come from Eleanor tells us everything we need to know.

"I'm sorry, Tripp. I don't know if I feel like that. That way. I just don't know."

A couple hours have passed, and tensions inside have slowly been rising. But, getting to sit back on a couch and read some old magazines to pass the time while Kate lightly sleeps on me hasn't been the worst thing to happen to me. In reality, everything feels normal right now, except, you know, the zombie apocalypse and the bloodbath that's about to break out.

Tripp revealing his true feelings to Eleanor doesn't exactly help things either, but with everything that's about to go down, it hardly even matters. This may not have been the time or place, but if he could get it off his chest now, I guess he got it off his chest.

Nonetheless, the two continue to talk/bicker as the door opens, and Javi and Gabe walk through, Javi a little roughed up, probably from Joan's men, but the two of them look alright overall.

Kate's the first to react, running to the door and hugging her brother in law. But their embrace is overshadowed by the further bickering from Tripp and Eleanor, Tripp explaining why we need to get out, but Eleanor insists that she needs to stay and help. I respect the hell out of Eleanor for doing this, but I'm not sure it's worth it. But one thing I am sure about? I am not getting in between them right now. They're going at each other and I am not about to try anything to dissolve that.

But once the two of them see Javi, things lighten up. Their expressions change almost immediately, Tripp saying something first.

"Oh. Hey Javi. Welcome back. You guys alright?"

"Yeah…" He replies, kinda awkwardly. "We're fine. Are you guys?"

"Just peachy. What the hell is going on here?" Eleanor asks, apparently not familiar with our situation.

"You can't trust Joan," Javi answers. "She's trying to remove David from power by pinning murders on him. It's complete bullshit."

"I told you we couldn't trust them." Tripp quips.

"And I told you we should've gotten the hell out of here when we had the chance." Kate adds. "I'm sorry about what's happening to David, but we have to get out of here before we get killed in a fight we have no business being in."

"No. We can't. There's too much unfinished business here. I'm sorry. We can't leave just yet."

Kate sighs. "Fuck…"

"And besides. Have you guys even taken a look outside?" Eleanor asks the rest of us. We look at each other, confused, before turning back to her and shaking our heads. "Well go look for yourselves."

Kate and I walk over to the back window, and I open the blinds to the sight before us.

"Oh shit…" Comes out of my mouth. So many walkers, flooding the streets, as far as the eye can see. We're stuck here.

"Even if we did get David free, you're not gonna be able to go anywhere." Eleanor reminds us.

"Jesus…" Kate mutters. "We should've gotten out of here while we had the chance."

"And then we run into that herd earlier." I remind her. "At least here, we have some sort of security. If we went out there, we have no sort of security, and no way to deal with that many walkers."

She scoffs. "I'd rather take my chances out there than in here."

"Then you're an idiot." Ava says as she appears behind us. "Be realistic. You wouldn't have lasted eight seconds out there. You'd've been torn to shreds by those things."

Tripp groans. "Seems like we're in trouble inside here and outside. I, for one, would feel a whole lot safer with a few more guns to protect myself."

"Amen to that, brother. We're not gonna be able to do shit if they've got assault rifles and we're working with a couple handguns." I agree, and he shoots me a nod.

"Is that really the smartest move to make right now? Like, seriously? That's crazy. What're you going to do? Break into their armory? Steal all their guns?"

"Actually, that's exactly what we could do." Ava suggests to the rest of us. "I can get you in there, and you guys can get the guns, and get back here. It should probably be a small group, just two or three of you."

"Sounds like a plan." Javi confirms.

"So who's going?" I ask. Gabe raises his hand in an instant. Kid's eager to prove himself. I like it.

Me, Javi, Gabe, and Tripp walk toward the door. Before Kate taps me on the shoulder. As I turn around, I'm greeted with a passionate kiss on the lips, kinda like the junkyard kiss, except she goes in for it, not me.

"Good Luck." She whispers as we walk out into the hall. I can't help but keep a goofy smile on my face. Dear God, I think I'm falling for her.

"Look, Javi, I don't know if you heard earlier, but I kinda fucked it up with Eleanor." Tripp quietly admits as we walk out.

"We can talk on the way."

"Yeah look, I don't think I can leave with things like this between me and her. It wouldn't be right."

"Tripp, no offense, but you're being an idiot. This is not the time for this."

"You don't get it, man! You just don't. I just shouldn't have pushed it with her like I did. It wasn't fair to her. There was just way too much going on, you know?"

"Javi, come on!" Gabe urges us to leave, but Tripp tells the kid otherwise.

"Sorry kid, just another minute. I'm sorry, Javi. I just don't know what to do."

"Everyone's just a little overwhelmed with everything." I assure him. "Don't worry about it. You just gotta wait for the right time with this. Maybe she'll even come around."

Tripp sighs with a dejected look on his face. "Uh-huh. Right… Well good luck out there. I'm gonna talk things over with Eleanor and watch over things here. Don't y'all worry, I won't let anything happen to anyone here."

"Thank you, Tripp." Javi thanks our friend as Tripp closes the door while Gabe waits impatiently with Ava down the hall.

"Shall we?" She asks us. With a determined look on my face, I nod.

"Let's do this."

 **So, if you can't tell, I decided to go back to one a week with this from now until the conclusion of this story. With school, rugby, and other things i have going on, doing two chapters of this a week while maintaining quality writing is just not realistic. I value quality over quantity with this, so I won't push out two chapters a week to meet this quota if the chapters aren't going to be up to my standards. Hopefully you guys understand. Anyways, hope you've enjoyed. Things start to get interesting next week :]**


	36. Stay Frosty

Chapter 36 - Stay Frosty

"Stay frosty, gents." Ava tells us as we approach a large building.

"What's that mean?" Gabe asks.

"Keep your cool." She clarifies for the boy. Suddenly, she stops, and darts behind a wall. Instinctively, we do the same. I peek out, and a stocky guy around my age walks out, looking around outside before walking away.

"Looks like they've got Bob on duty. I'll distract him to get you guys in. I'll meet you in there. But be careful in there, there may be more of them." Ava tells us, still peering out and watching him.

"Got it." I whisper to her as she walks over to the front door, where Bob sits, smoking a cigarette.

"Remember what she said, guys. Keep your cool." Javi reminds us as Gabe scoffs.

"I know. I've done this before, Javi." But Javi shakes his head.

"No, Gabe, you really haven't. Some decisions, you make them in a split second and then you have to live with them for the rest of your life. You understand?"

Gabe hesitates, looking down at the ground, before looking back up to his uncle and nods. "Yeah. Yeah I think I do."

"Good. This won't be easy. But if you just keep your head, we'll get in and out nice and quick."

"Ok." He responds as our attention shifts to Ava, walking off with this man, Bob. There's our chance. As I lead the way toward the door, I hear Gabe ask another question.

"How do we know Ava won't turn us in?"

"She's gotten us this far, hasn't she? I think we can trust her. If she fucks us over, then that's it. But it's a risk we're gonna have to take. I trust her enough, so far." I respond.

"He's right, Gabe. And besides, your dad vouched for her. We trust him, don't we?" Javi agrees.

Gabe nods. "Yeah, of course."

"Then we should be ok… I hope."

"Alright guys. Here's our chance. Let's get some guns." I tell the others as I lead the way.

* * *

The giant wood doors slowly creak open as we walk into a large corridor, and Javi leads us deeper down, to where Ava told him to go. At the end of the corridor, a dimly-lit room labeled 'Armory'. Jackpot.

Javi reaches for knob, but of course, it's locked. Because why wouldn't they lock their weapons? Without saying a word, Javi reaches for an old fire extinguisher. He bashes it down on the knob, sending a loud ringing noise echoing down the corridors. Again, he bashes, and the ringing echoes. A third time, and the lock breaks, the door slowly creaking open, and we get a great view of just what these people have in terms of weapons.

Shelves of automatic rifles, shotguns, handguns, and a flurry of other guns and weapons fill the room, magazines piled up on tables and in boxes. These assholes are ready for a real fight. I start looking around for a weapon I like. As I walk around, getting a look at my options. As Javi and Gabe pack rifles into duffel bags, a handgun laying on a shelf catches my eye. A Colt M1911, nickel plated, pristine condition. An absolutely beautiful gun, pretty damn powerful, too. I tuck it away in my back pocket as my sights turn to the rifles. Lots of AK-47s. I shrug and pick one off the shelf, getting a feel for it. The stock is well-worn, but everything else feels perfect. I grab a few rifles and place them in the bag, also grabbing some spare magazines, filled with ammo. As I look at what else we have available, footsteps slowly enter the room, and Gabe gasps. I turn to see Ava, looking at us with a smirk.

"Sorry I scared you. When we get back to Eleanor's, we need to talk to those people about doing right by this place." She grabs one of the bags and starts walking out of the room.

"I'll meet you by the front door. Don't take too long." She leaves us with that.

I take one last look around the room at anything we could use. Anything at all. But it looks like we cleaned the place out pretty good. With that, I take the second bag full of guns and walk out with Javi and Gabe.

* * *

We make our way down the corridors towards the front entrance, our footsteps echoing down the halls as Javi suddenly stops. Another set of footsteps echos from a separate corridor. He quickly turns and ducks into a supply closet, and Gabe follows. I run back, past the door they went, sliding around the corner just as the person turns the corner. I slowly peek out, a single guy, maybe a little older than me, walks down the corridor, right towards me. But, he stops. Looking at the door, and slowly reaching for the handle.

"Freeze!" Gabe yells as he immediately crashes through the door, rushing the man. With little effort, he tosses Gabe to the side, drawing his gun. With that, Javi rushes him, slamming into him and knocking the gun away, forcing the man to take out his knife. As the two men struggle, I slowly creep up behind him, pulling out my gun, as I see the man sink his blade into Javi's shoulder. He cries out in pain as the man takes this opportunity to overpower Javi, pinning him to the floor. As I approach the man from behind, I grab my pistol by the barrel, bringing my arm back, and swing it as hard as I can, smacking the side of his head and knocking him out cold.

"Say 'Goodnight'" I mutter, looking at the man slumped over on the floor.

Javi slowly sits up, favoring his shoulder as the knife falls out, blood pouring from the wound.

"You alright?" I ask him, helping him up.

"I'll be fine." He assures me.

"I can't leave you guys alone for two minutes, can I?" Ava impatiently remarks as she sees the sight of what just happened. "Is he still alive?" She asks, pointing to the guy lying on the ground.

"Yeah. He's still breathing." I tell her.

"Jesus Christ. I'm starting to think siding with you guys wasn't the best idea." She scolds us before turning to Javi's wound. "You're gonna need that wound taken care of. You should go see Dr. Lingard. Don't worry, he and David are close friends. He'll help you, if he's sober."

"Ok, let's go. But make it quick." Javi agrees.

"I'll take care of Sleeping Beauty and the rest of the mess here." I volunteer. "Where should I meet you guys?"

"Meet us back at Eleanor's. This might take a while." Ava instructs me. I give her a nod as the three of them walk away.

The dude I knocked out is a pretty hefty guy. I try to pick him up to move him to the supply closet, but to little avail. He's probably got a good 50 pounds on me. So I do the next best thing, dragging him on the floor, through the blood and dirt that covers it, dropping him down in the closet floor. I take his gun, shining in the moonlight, as well as his knife, and drop them in a desk drawer.

With that, I make my way out. As I look up at the night sky upon exiting, my mind starts thinking about all this. We're really doing this. We've got guns, we've got people coming, hopefully, we're really about to take these people on. We are literally getting ready for war. We may be outmatched, we may be outgunned, we may be out of our minds, but this is happening. I'm ready. I'm ready to fight. For Prescott, for Wellington, for everyone that I've lost, I'm ready to fight this for them, even if it means I lose my own life.

I sigh as I reach the apartment building, opening the front door and walking upstairs to Eleanor's apartment. Slowly walking up the stairs, I can't help but think about Kate. How does she feel about this? Shit… I don't know. I'm almost nervous about it all. I'm ready to lose my life, but I'm not ready to lose her. Is it that I literally care about Kate more than I do myself?

I finally make it to the apartment, and with a deep breath, I walk in, not sure what to expect, but Tripp and Eleanor sitting together, they clearly worked out the debacle from a few hours ago.

"Hey!" Tripp greets me with a gracious smile.

"Hey guys. How's everything back here?"

"Just fine, man. Kate and Conrad are getting some shut-eye, and Eleanor and I have worked everything out."

"Glad to hear."

"Yeah, so where's the rest of them?"

"They should be here soon enough. Javi ran into a bit of trouble back there, so they're taking care of it. But they'll be fine. You don't gotta worry about it."

"Shit, man. How about the guns?"

"We're gonna be armed to the teeth when this shit hits the fan. These assholes are loaded when it comes to weapons. Just take a look for yourself when they get back."

"Sounds good, man. Can't wait."

With a yawn, I set my sights on a guest room. I need some sleep. I walk towards one of them, cracking open the door to see Kate sound asleep. I turn away to close it as I hear her voice.

"Ian…?"

"Hey Kate, didn't mean to wake you-"

"Come in, and close the door."

I do as she tells me to and I walk in, quietly shutting the door, waiting for any further instruction.

"Come in bed with me. Please." She motions me over to her. Hesitantly, I do it, cuddling up next to David's wife. She lets out a soft sigh as she cuddles into me.

"I've been thinking a lot, lately. About David, about you, about life." She tells me. "It's not easy, being with someone like David. Someone who's hard-headed, but still tender enough to not drive me totally crazy. I thought he was gone, and I think I was ready to accept that. And I was fine with that. I had Javi. I had Gabe. I had Mari. That was good enough for me. But it really wasn't. And then you come into my life. This random guy, just trying to survive like the rest of us. You could've been an asshole like everyone else, but I just had a feeling. You were different. You seemed like a genuinely good guy, in this world of bad. I could see it, Javi could see it, and Mariana even saw it. At the scrapyard, when we were getting shot at, you got me out of there, all while shooting back at them. You were willing to die for me, someone who didn't have much of a chance to begin with. You helped me with the surgery, even as Eleanor was fishing through my guts to find a bullet, you were there for me, and something about that look in your eyes, I knew I was gonna be fine. And when the New Frontier left me to die, you came for me, and you carried me in here, even after all that's happened with these people. After the things they've done to you. You did it because you care. And I need you to know that-"

"Javi! You're back!" Tripp exclaims from the other room, and our attentions turn to that. As much as I want to hear what Kate has to tell me, the both of us know we need to see Javi. The two of us roll out of bed and walk out of the guest room to see Javi, Gabe, Ava, and Clem. I guess they found Clem on the way back. Tripp, Javi, and Eleanor seem to be talking about his injury as Gabe proudly pulls out all the guns we got, making sure to give Clem a gun of her own, despite her already having one. The signs are pretty obvious, the kid's got a crush on her.

"So what took you so long?" Tripp asks as he inspects an M4 Carbine.

"We went to go see Dr. Lingard." Javi explains, much to Eleanor's surprise.

"At night? I'm surprised he was even sober."

"He was out of it when we got there. Poor dude. He needs help."

"It's fucking pathetic." Clementine snaps, crossing her arms in frustration. I look at her with some surprise. Javi walks over to her, whispering something to her, before she walks over to Kate to talk to her.

"The sun's gonna be rising in a few hours, and Joan's people know we're holed up here. It'll only be a matter of time before they come looking for us." Javi announces to all of us, the room going silent for a moment.

"Well that's just great. And we're not going anywhere with those walkers blocking our exit." Tripp groans, frustrated.

"Hey! We still have time to get in front of this before Joan can do anything. Now I don't know about you, but I'm not gonna sit around and wait for her to find us."

"I'm likin' what you're saying, Javi. But we can't just cut and run. Not with those walkers out here. Like it or not, we're stuck in Richmond. So how the fuck do we put the brakes on this thing?"

"Joan and her people are gonna be in the square, right? So we need to bring the fight to them." Ava tells us. Tripp smiles in agreement.

"We go after Joan, our problems are solved."

"Great… So... How exactly do we do that?" Eleanor asks.

"Good question. She'll be insulated from us and anyone in Richmond who doesn't agree with what she's doing. She'll have a full security detail."

"If there are good people left in Richmond who are against what Joan's doing, we need to ask for their help. If we can talk to them, plead our case to them, we might not be in this alone." Javi suggests to us. "We light the match, the people do the rest."

"After we take Joan out, we're gonna need a way out. And we really don't have much room in terms of running. So… what do we do about that?" I ask the important question, but once again, Ava has the important answers.

"We've got a couple truck we use for walker defense. They're a little busted up, but it's a whole lot better than nothing."

"That'll work. How far away are these trucks?"

"Not far. Let me show you." She points out the window. "We've been expanding the safe zone. I can't guarantee the walkers have been cleared out, yet, but that's where the trucks are kept."

"I could spit and hit it!" Tripp excitedly claims. He's not wrong. It's not very far at all. A quick walk over, and the truck's ours.

"We steal that thing, and we're golden." I say, trying to get an estimate of how far away it may be. Honestly, maybe not more than twenty minutes to there.

"Steal what?" Kate asks us, coming back and joining the conversation. "What's going on? Javi, is that blood on your shirt?"

"Things went a little sideways at the end, Kate. But it's fine. It looks worse than it is. Clem did a hell of a job stitching me up."

"Eleanor, can you at least just give it a quick look to make sure it's ok?" Kate asks her. She gives it a quick look and confirms it's not a big deal, so long as he keeps it clean. But Gabe groans, frustrated.

"Can we all stop making a big deal about it? God, it happened, ok? Move on, already!"

"Chill the fuck out, Gabe. She's just making sure he's alright." I tell the boy, but he shakes it off.

"What we need to be talking about is the plan! I have a bunch of ideas. I wanna be the one to go after Dad. Just give me a gun, and I'll do whatever!"

"Woah! Slow your roll, kid. You're thirteen. This isn't some desperado, action movie kinda bullshit. This isn't a fucking video game. This is real life. So don't get ahead of yourself with this. If you start planning how you're gonna be a hero, that's how you get shot. We gotta plan how we're gonna do this before we even think about David."

"Yeah, who's to say you're even coming along?" Tripp asks.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He looks around the room, seeing a lot of serious expressions. To this, he yells out in anger. "This is bullshit! I'm not staying behind!"

"Chill out, Gabe." Javi tells his nephew, who remains fired up about this whole issue.

"He's my dad! I'm going."

"Gabe, it is dangerous out there. I don't want you getting hurt." Kate tells her stepson.

Adamantly, he stands his ground. "If it means saving Dad, then it's worth getting hurt."

I nod, but remain firm. "I admire the sentiment, but putting yourself in that kinda danger for some self-validation is not worth it. David won't be upset if you're not there to rescue him, but he will if you get shot or bitten."

"You don't get it! Family, it's worth dying for!"

This strikes a chord with me. My family already died. Mom, Dad, Mick, Mia, I've lost my family. It's easy for him to say when he has family alive, but he has no fucking idea. I grit my teeth to avoid firing back. Javi notices this and tries to defuse the situation.

"You need to calm down, Gabe. You've been trying to hard to be the hero lately. That shit back at the armory, and now this? We're not gonna let you be a martyr. No one is."

"Before you all make any decisions about who's coming and who's staying and who's gonna do what, I just wanna say… I'm sitting this one out. It's not that I don't feel bad for David, but I really don't particularly care about what happens to the people here in Richmond, that's all. Not my community, not my problem." Conrad shrugs to us, shaking his head.

"I get it, man. You got what you came for. But it's not done yet. There are people out here who need our help. Good people. You're just gonna walk out on them?" I ask him, but he remains firm.

"Look, man, I ain't walking away for good. But, I just can't go along with this. I'm gonna grab some things and wait out the herd myself. I'll attract less attention by myself."

"Conrad-" Tripp says, before he's cut off by his friend hugging him.

"Hey, no goodbyes."

With that, he walks out, gone.

"So, who's still in?" Javi asks the rest of us.

"Hell yes, brother." Tripp's the first to answer.

"I promised David I'd always have his back." Ava says.

Clem's next. "Let's do this."

"Without Conrad, you guys need me, and you know it." Gabe quips.

"It looks like the six or so of us against a whole army. I like our odds." I grin as I pick up an AK-47.

"Alright, so Me, Kate, Ian, Clem, and Gabe will go after the truck. Tripp and Eleanor, you guys get supplies."

"Here, take a walkie." Tripp hands the device to Javi. "I'll let you know when things kick off."

"Ava, you take one and keep checking in." Javi says to the woman, as she takes one from Tripp, too.

"I'll get my stuff and meet you at the square."

"Okay guys." Let's move out."

 **Well, I'm not dead. Not yet at least. So anyways, I suppose I owe you guys an explanation why this chapter took 3 weeks to write. Well, when you're a college sophomore who's also an athlete AND in a new relationship, it's hard to make time to write, especially when I maybe have a couple hours of time to balance when I'm not in class or at practice or asleep. Plus I like to party on the weekends, so I'm not gonna write when I'm drunk or hungover. Faithful readers know that this story has been something I've been doing for fun, and that school and shit has always been my top priority, this story being a side project I've been doing with my free time. Unfortunately, that's still how it is, and being an athlete, the abundance of free time I had as a freshman suddenly goes away when I factor in practices and workouts and games. I'm still gonna try my best to keep at this, and I promise it will be finished EVENTUALLY. If I had to guess, there's maybe 5 or 6 chapters left at most, including what I have planned and mostly already written for the final chapters. When it'll be finished, I don't know. But I can promise you, it will be done and it will be worth the wait.**

 **Hopefully I'll have another chapter done Thursday, but no promises. As I write this, I literally JUST finished this chapter 15 minutes ago, if that is any indication.**


	37. Daylight

Chapter 37 - Daylight

The fence softly clatters in the cool, early morning breeze, as we walk over to where Ava sent us. Old trucks litter the area, but aside from that, it seems quiet.

"Clem and I will go and get the truck. Gabe, Kate, and Ian, you guys stay back. Watch out backs, and be ready for anything." Javi instructs us as he and Clem walk off. Despite this, Gabe follows.

"I think I should go with you, actually." Gabe whispers to his uncle as Javi tries to open the front gate.

"That wasn't the plan, Gabe."

"Actually," Clementine interjects. "I was kinda hoping you'd be able to watch my back on this one. I don't wanna get surprised while I'm out there." She gives him a cute smile. Oh my God. She's got a crush on him, too.

"Uhh… Right. Somebody needs to be a lookout." He agrees.

I can't help but smile as I look at Kate, who shoots me a similar smile. We're on the same page. We know what's up. And Clementine notices this.

"What?" But I just shake my head, keeping the smile.

"Nah, it's nothing." I tell her.

She, Gabe, and Javi enter the compound, leaving Kate and I alone, together, with nothing to do but watch the others get to the truck. She wanted to tell me something earlier, when we were in bed together. But she was cut off by Javi and everyone coming back. I almost want to ask her what she wanted to tell me, but at the same time, if it's something more personal, she may want to wait for a less pressured situation. But, at the same time, there's no guarantee there'll ever be a time like that. For all we know, we're gonna be dead by the end of today anyways, so will it even make a difference?

Javi and Clem reach the garage, Javi opening the door, and in the soft morning light, I see a black armored truck. Perfect. That thing'll punch through a herd of walkers like they're paper. He signals to Gabe to come to him, and then for us to come, too. Slowly, using the shadows to avoid anyone that may be looking, we creep over to Javi.

As we reach the truck, I hear the faint sound of voices coming from a nearby room. Shit. Early shifters. We gotta be quiet.

"Early risers… Come on. We gotta finish before more people wake up." Kate says as Javi slowly gets inside the car, looking for keys.

"We can't start the engine without attracting a lot of attention." He looks towards his sister-in-law, "Kate, you steer in neutral while the rest of us push, see if we can get some distance between these guys." She nods as she gets into the driver seat, and the rest of us get behind.

On a count of three, the four of us push, hard as we can, and it actually moves surprisingly easily. As the sounds of the men conversing is soon drowned out by the sounds of the car rolling on the gravel, we're in the clear, just a little further until we can get moving.

"I couldn't find an ignition key. Guess you're gonna have to hotwire it." Kate tells us as I turn to Javi.

"Any chance you know how?" I ask him.

He gives me a grin and nods. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."

"Alright, man. Do what you gotta do. Just don't shock yourself."

"Shit… I'll need something to strip the wires. Any chance one of you have a pair of wire cutters?"

I shake my head. "Nope. But there's some tools lying around here. Maybe we'll get lucky."

We look around in the pale morning light for any tools that can help us. Out of the corner of my eye, a red, rusted toolbox lying on the ground by a boarded up alleyway. I crouch down next to it, slowly reaching for it, and I flip it open. Jackpot. A pair of wire strippers, sitting right there. I reach down for them, only to get a rotted arm and hand reach out and grab me.

The walker, catching me off guard, pulls my arm towards his mouth, and my hand barely misses a vicious bite. I grab a hammer from the toolbox with my other hand, and swing hard toward its skull.

As its skull explodes into a crimson colored mess, I back away, taking a deep breath and picking up the wire cutters I lost in the commotion. Once again, I cheat certain death. But luck can run out as fast as any resource. Who knows how soon it'll be before my time's up. Like Kate said some time ago. There's gonna be a last run. It's all just a matter of when.

But there's no time to be thinking about that. We've got bigger issues at hand now. We've got a fight on our hands.

I hand Javi the wire cutters, and he gets to work on hotwiring the truck. By the back of the truck, Kate smokes a cigarette. I sit down next to her on the back behind the truck as she offers me one, but I decline. It's funny. 24 Hours from now, I could be a corpse, lying on the ground, nothing more than a memory and some rotted flesh. And yet, I'm not stressed. I don't need a smoke. I am perfectly relaxed. Like a Sunday in the Spring, just sitting outside, enjoying the breeze.

Kate doesn't say anything, either. I don't know if she just has nothing to say, or if she's coming to terms with everything, too. I've never really asked her what she thought about all this. Although, I guess she's probably not thrilled about the situation we're in. I wouldn't blame her. I'm not exactly thrilled either, but I'm as ready as I will be. I'll do what I can, and then when it's my time, it's my time.

I feel a soft rumbling from where I sit as the soft sound of the truck's ignition fires up. Javi got it working. The rest of us run to the car doors and flood in, just as the two guys from earlier come outside to investigate. Before they can do anything, Javi floors it, speeding off down the road before the men can do anything. This is it. We're doing this.

* * *

Javi pulls into a dark back street in Richmond, just to see the morning sun peek over the skyline. Almost dawn. Almost time to do this. My stomach knots just thinking about it. We're gonna confront Joan, in the town square, in front of everyone. If we're gonna convince people to join us, there's not gonna be a more effective way. Of course, they could just not believe us, and then we have that many more enemies. Maybe we get captured and then we get made an example of to the rest of the public. Maybe this all goes smoothly and no one fires a bullet.

Who am I kidding? We're four years into this mess. When has anything gone smoothly for us?

"So…. what now?" Kate asks us, looking out at the pale sunrise.

"We sit and wait for Ava to call us on the walkie." I tell her, holding the walkie in my left hand, waiting for her go-ahead.

"Well then, I guess we have nothing to do but sit and watch the sun come up." She says sweetly, looking into my eyes with that soft smile she's always given me.

I smile back, about to tell her I agree, before Gabe interrupts. Both of our heads turn to him. "I know we've got something important to do. I'm teaching you to play euchre." He turns to Clem as he pulls out a deck of cards.

Clem laughs as she shakes her head. "That's not a real thing."

He grins as he shuffles the deck. "It's a card game! C'mon. It'll be fun."

As the two kids get to their card game, Kate sighs with a nice smile. "It's nice to have a couple of kids in the back seat again. It really takes me back, to when it was Mariana and Gabe. Better times."

"You're right." Javi agrees. "Like, if I close my eyes, we're right back to where we were. All of us, together."

"Do what I do. Think about the nice stuff. Not… everything that happened after."

I quietly sigh when Kate says this. Thinking about the nice stuff. I try to. I try to think about the good things with Carley. With Mia. With everyone. And yet, every time, it leads to the same result. Death.

My thoughts are once again interrupted by Gabe, screaming gotcha, as Clementine groans in frustration, complaining about a rule. In response, Kate smirks to me and Javi.

"I guess he stopped playing it cool with her." She whispers to us. I completely get it, but Javi gives her a confused look, so she explains further. "In case you haven't noticed, Gabe's got a little crush on Clementine."

A smile forms on my face as I nod. I've said it before. The signs are there. "I hope it works out for them. I really do. I think they're good for each other."

"You think their first date will be target practice?" She asks me, still smiling.

I grin. "And then skinning and eating a wild animal."

"Young love. It's all so… normal, you know? As crazy and terrible as things get, there's nothing more wonderfully ordinary than two kids just falling for each other. Not that they're necessarily there yet, but to feel something that intensely for another person? Kinda like the best drug there is."

"The falling in love part is always the easiest. The staying in love part is what always gets you." I respond.

"I'm just saying, it's unfair. That what they're feeling what they're feeling right now, and when that sun gets a little bit higher, it's right back to the fight. I just wish he could've had a childhood, you know? I wish I could've given him that. Him and Mari both."

"That's why we're doing this. We're doing this to make it better for everyone, so that we can at least try to make this world a better one for them. It won't be pretty, but hopefully this can bring about the changes needed so that these kids have the life they deserve."

"You're right. It won't be pretty, but I think the end result can be something better than we could have imagined."

"It's something worth dying for. I can say I've lived a good life. If I die today fighting for a better world for these kids, I can't complain about that."

She smiles, but turns away a bit. "That's really noble of you, Ian, but I wanted to tell you something back at Eleanor's. Having you here, by my side, in just this little of time… it's made a huge difference. You're so sure of what you're fighting for… who you're fighting for. And you don't run away. You don't give up. You could have, but you didn't."

I blush before looking out front, toward the morning sun. "People need me. I've had instances where I want to give up. There's been times where I could've just shot myself and ended the pain, ended the suffering. But I didn't. Something just always kept me going. I always felt I could do something better with my life than just give up. To end it all, it'd be the easy way out, but it wouldn't be right."

"I get it." She smiles, but turns away, looking out her window. "There's no graceful way to say this, so I'm just gonna say it. I know we've had moments, you and I." Once again, she turns to me. "And they're always… a little hot, and a little confusing. And maybe some of them have been heat of the moment, didn't mean anything at all. But before whatever happens, I need you to know. Whatever this thing is between us, I want to give it a chance. And I know that David being back in the picture makes this whole thing a lot more complicated, but… Do you feel the same way?"

I sit there, stunned. She just admitted it. She has feelings for me. I knew that she did when she kissed me but, now, she told me. She told me, and I have no words. I don't know what to say.

As she looks back at me with an increasing sense of worry, I still find myself at a loss for words.

"Maybe I should've just stayed quiet…" She says as she buries her face into her hands.

But, I move her hands from her face, looking up at her eyes, slightly teary, and hold her head with my right hand, pulling her in for a kiss. She willingly moves in as the two of us kiss further, the two of us pulling away after a bit and lustful smiles form on our faces.

"Okay… Yeah, shit… We're doing this." She says, grinning, and I can't help but grin back.

"Yeah, we really are."

"You do realize we're gonna have to have an awkward conversation with David, right? It's only right. He got the sense I was pulling away."

"Well, I hope he can handle it. I'm sure he's built to handle a lot of different kinds of situations, but this is probably a bit different."

"Here's hoping he doesn't completely flip out. Considering what we're about to do, I think it's safe to say he may just cut us a break."

Some static comes through the walkie before Ava's voice comes on the line. " _Javi! Ian! It's a damn execution over here. She's planning on hanging David in front of the entire town. You've gotta get here, ASAP. Don't bring the truck. If they see it, they'll kill him right away. If you can just get into the square-"_

"Shit…" I mutter as Ava's line cuts off. "We gotta get to the town square, now."

Javi, Gabe, Clem, and myself get out of the truck, and Kate shifts herself to the driver seat.

"I'll stay back with the truck."

"Stay out of sight, and keep the walkie close by. We'll call you as soon as we get David."

She gives me a nod, and I hop back up to the driver seat to give her one last kiss. Possibly my last ever.

"Good luck." She tells me as she closes the door and the four of us head down toward the square.

* * *

"It sounded like Ava got cut off by something. Or somebody." Clementine mentions as we get roughly a block from the square, the sound of the crowd growing louder. There's a lot of people there, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. I can't tell.

"I wish we had some idea of what we're heading into." Javi replies as we start walking. Out of the corner of my eye, I see some people on rooftops walking around, scoped rifles in hand. Snipers? Is Joan expecting us?

"Watch out. Snipers. They could be watching for us, but if shots start popping make sure you can find cover." I warn the others, getting some nods in return.

Finally, the town square comes into view. A crowd of people in front of a makeshift stage. Standing on it, several people. Firstly, David in a noose, as Ava told us. An older man, maybe a little older than David himself, in a faded vest. And an older woman, black hair, a streak of white running down through it. The woman, whom I suspect is Joan, passionately speaks to the townspeople below, who simply stand and watch. The four of us join the crowd and watch as Joan continues to speak.

"The people of Richmond deserve to be safe!" She says. "David Garcia has to be punished for what he's done. For years, Richmond has been governed by one single principle: strong council, strong community. But unfortunately, one of the members of that council, our security expert, David Garcia, has put us in a position of danger."

"She's lying to you all!" He yells to the people, in a desperate attempt to tell them the truth, but she continues without acknowledging.

"I didn't want to have to show you this. Truly, I didn't. But, you all need to see." She signals to one of her men as he lowers a curtain, revealing Badger's rotted corpse, and a plethora of shocked gasps follow. "He murdered this man in cold blood! Is this who we want in charge? Someone this reckless? This cruel? Not if I have anything to do with it!" Gauging the concerned chatter from the audience, I'd have to guess they're buying this bullshit completely. Perfect. Just fucking perfect.

"Keep your cool guys. This is just a scare tactic." Javier reminds us as Joan takes notice of our presence.

"Ah, Javier. So nice of you to join us! I heard you were coming to crash our little party. Why don't you come up here, show your face to everyone?"

My heart skips a beat. What did she mean by that? Did someone… Did someone sell us out?

"Gladly! I've been waiting for this all day!" Javi boldly responds, much to her amusement.

"Well then, I'll be sure not to disappoint." She tells him as he walks to the front of the crowd, looking her dead in the eye.

"I had a very interesting conversation with your friend Eleanor last night. Isn't that right, Eleanor?"

I turn to see the woman I considered my friend with pure shock. She sold us out. This whole plan, Joan has our playbook. The snipers all make sense. She knows everything, and she prepared for it. And it's all because of Eleanor. She fucked us over. And now we're fucked. But why would she do that? After everything we've been through, after the things Joan did to her and her friends, why would she sell us out to help her?

"That's.. That's right…" Somewhat ashamed, she looks away, but admits regardless. Son of a bitch. She really sold us out.

"She said you were coming here to rally the people here against me." Joan says with a hearty laugh. "Convince them that I was no good for Richmond. Did you actually think that would work? Especially considering, you know, it's all of us against three of you?"

"Four, actually, and it's still the plan." I speak up from the crowd, much to Joan's surprise and amusement.

"Oh? And who exactly are you?"

"My name's Ian Sullivan, and I made it out of two raids that your people conducted on other settlements. And I'm gonna make sure that people know the truth about what happened, one way or another, just like we planned."

"Well then, Mr. Sullivan, I admire the honesty, which makes what I'm about to do that much harder. Here in Richmond, people who put themselves before the group don't last long. Bring them out!"

My eyes open in shock as I see two armed guards escorting Ava and Tripp out, hands binded, and their expressions telling everything. They were caught. Of course. As the men set them down on their knees, facing the crowd, I try to get a look of the area. Plenty of armed guards, automatic rifles ready. Looks like we're about to have a shootout..

"David wanted to tear this whole place apart. He told his people where to find our gun supply and sure enough, they picked us just about clean. You really thought you could ride into town and stage a coup with our own damn weapons? I can't just let something like that go. You've put me in a no-win situation here! So I'm going to do the same for you, Javier. Both of these people deserve to die. But, I will allow you to spare one. Just one."

"No!" Tripp and Ava both roar in protest at Joan's game. But she chuckles and smirks mockingly.

"Choose wisely, Javi. You know, these things only go one way." she adds, nodding toward her gun. "So who is it? Your friend? Or your brother's lieutenant? The choice is yours."

Javi hesitates, looking both Ava and Tripp in the eyes, the pressure of his decision growing every moment. She really has put us in a no-win situation. Either way we lose a valuable person to the operation. Or, she could be fucking around with us, and just outright kill us all. In fact, that's probably what she's planning on. I reach into my back pocket, pulling out the M1911 I stole from the armory, and keep it low. If I get a chance to go for the killshot, I might just have to take it.

I grit my teeth and clench my gun as Javier makes his decision, and Joan's expression turns to that of pure delight.

 **Yeah I had no time to write the last week lmao. BUT, I will this weekend. I'll absolutely have Chapter 38 out on Thursday. Hope you're all excited, cause the end is coming up closer than you know. It's gonna be good :]**


	38. Stirring Up The Hornet's Nest

Chapter 38 - Stirring up the Hornet's Nest

"Tripp has to live. He's invaluable."

Ava's expression turns to pure despair, and Tripp's to relief. He made his decision, and Joan's delighted expression is only rivaled by the horror of David's.

"Javi! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Well, you're not making David happy, but I admire you for sticking up for your own people." Joan commends Javi before getting back to her game. "Shoot him."

"Wait! I said Tripp should live!"

"You did, but there's something else you need to understand: betrayal." She smirks as one of her troops points her gun at Tripp's neck.

"You can't do this!" Eleanor cries out at the sight of her friend about to be executed. Tripp rolls his eyes and mutters something to himself.

"I can do anything I want! You people brought this on yourself. Do it." She orders.

Before any of us can react, the troop fires a single shot into Tripp's neck, and he collapses over, blood spurting out, but his eyes set forward. He's gone. She really just killed him.

"Tripp! No!" Eleanor and myself both cry out. Our friend, the man that helped me save Kate, and offered us refuge in Prescott, killed by a psychopath with all the power she could want. With this, talk amongst the townspeople grows more and more shocked and concerned. This is their leader. We've known this all along, but they're seeing it firsthand.

"And now, David, it's your turn." She announces to Javi's brother, almost with some pride, like she's proud of what she's doing. Javi attempts to rush the stage, but is held up by some troops pointing their rifles at him. Behind us, I hear the sounds of more troops raising their rifles. Without much of a choice, we raise our hands in surrender. But the other man on stage, clearly horrified with Joan's actions, speaks up.

"I can't believe this! This isn't how we do things, Joan. This is madness!"

"Then stop her, Clint!" Javi tells the man. "Is this the process you trusted? The one you told us to have faith in?"

"No!"

"Think about this, Javi. You know what's going to happen here. Are you ready for that?" Joan warns us, but Clint once again speaks up.

"We don't murder in Richmond. We exile. That's how we've always done things. How about you take David, and the rest of your people, and just get the hell out, and never come back? Go far away from Richmond, and whatever you do is up to you."

"I'm sure the herd out there would like that." Joan smugly remarks, not knowing we have a truck.

"She thinks she's sending us out to die. We could take this deal, Javi." I whisper to him. And he nods back to me.

"She's counting on it."

"Everyone put your guns away! We're handling this peacefully!" Clint instructs, and the troops put their guns down, allowing us to lower our arms.

"Don't listen to them, Javi! They're fucking butchers! All of them!" David yells to his brother. "Shoot that bitch! Take her out!"

"We're leaving. All of us. Right now." Javi announces as he accepts Clint's deal. But, Joan has other plans.

"I didn't say you could leave."

"It doesn't matter if you did. This is how it has to happen." Clint says as he unbinds David's wrists, allowing him to remove the noose from his neck and jump down from the stool that held him up. With a smug look, he turns towards the crowd, walking to the stairs before punching a troop in the gut, stealing his sidearm and holding Clint hostage.

"I don't believe you! Take your deal and shove it!"

"They're liars, Clint! All of them!" Joan tell the other council member. But david doubles down.

"One step closer, and I kill him I swear I will."

"Go ahead and shoot then, I warned you!"

"David! What the fuck is this, man? This isn't the plan." I tell him, but he refuses to back down.

"She can't win. I won't let her." He says as he points the gun at Joan. With this, Clint uses the opportunity to break out of David's hold, and the two men begin to struggle over the gun, a shot accidently going off and panic erupting from the crowd as more gunfire comes at us.

I take cover behind a trash can, automatic gunfire spraying past me and deflecting off the metal can, as I hear the 'whoosh' of a bullet flying past my head from the rooftops. I turn to see one of the snipers looking right at me. Without hesitation, I start spraying shots from my rifle at the roof. Just barely, I see a spurt of red comes from his chest and I watch his body drop, his head lying lifelessly on the edge of the roof.

Gabe jumps onto the stage where his dad and Clint wrestle for the gun, pulling Clint away in an attempt to break it up. Clint shoves Gabe away, but that's all David needs. He frees the gun from Clint's grasp, and points the gun at his head, barely even bothering to wait as he squeezes the trigger. Clint's body falls to the ground, his lifeless eyes looking up at Gabe's horrified expression from what he just witnessed. Regardless, Gabe, his father, and Javi all get together on the stage for a moment, before gunfire forces them to take cover behind some columns.

I take this opportunity to join them. Running through gunfire whizzing past me on all sides, I hop up onto the stage and slide behind cover in one cool motion, David, Javi, Gabe, and Ava all standing behind cover, as well.

I peek out, amid the gunfire aimed at us, and see Joan, looking around before making a break for it down the road. Evidently, so does David.

"You fucking hag! Get back here!" He roars out, before I pull him back, narrowly avoiding getting shot in the process.

"David, stay with your family. I'll go after Joan. I'll make things right."

"Don't fuck this up, kid." He sternly tells me before working on a plan with Gabe and Javi. When the gunfire stops for a moment, I dart out, making a break for it to track down Joan.

There she is. Not too far away. Handgun in hand, I start sprinting. For an older woman, Joan clearly takes care of herself. Yet, I'm both faster and more athletic, so despite the good chase she makes me give, I run her down before she can get too far away.

"Gotcha!" I yell as I tackle her to the ground, rolling a bit before standing her up.

"Let me go! You bastard!" She grunts as I put the M1911 to her forehead.

"Shut the fuck up and come with me. We've got things to talk about."

As I lead her to the nearest building, two of her troops come to her aid, pointing their rifles at me. Two women, with bandanas over their mouths and sunglasses. Despite this, I double down.

"Drop your guns! I'll shoot this bitch! Fuckin' drop them!" I force the gun harder into her temple to prove I'm not fucking around.

"Shoot him! Do it!" Joan instructs her troops, but they do as I say, dropping their rifles to the ground and raising their hands in surrender.

Perfect.

With a smirk, I point the M1911 at the first troop, pulling the trigger, and she drops to the ground. Before the second one can react, I shoot her, exactly the same way, splattering her brains all over the sidewalk and building. Without any other thought to it, I open the door, and bring Joan inside, leaving the two dead bodies right in the middle of the street.

* * *

I pull Joan into an empty apartment on the first floor. Tossing her in before locking the door behind us.

"Look at this mess you've made. This place, the perfect community, it's a bloody warzone now. And it's all YOUR fault." She accuses me, looking out the window at the violence. Gunfire and explosions aplenty sound off in the background. God knows how many are dead out there.

"This was a war you started, Joan. With whoever you raided that first time, killing everyone and stealing everything from them, you started this. But the good thing, this ends today, starting with you."

"With me?" She laughs. "Look at you. Some young buck thinking he can take this place down. You know nothing. You ARE nothing. You clearly have no clue how to make it nowadays."

"I know enough to know that everything that you've done has led to this. The raids, the attacks, the killing. I've seen the things you ordered. I know what you've done. I lived through two of those raids. Wellington and Prescott. Do you even remember Wellington? It was three weeks ago in Ohio. But then again, why should you? I saw where you kept all your stolen goods. There were so many communities, burned to the ground. I sat there and watched the community that took me in at my lowest point and helped me get back to where I was burned to the ground as your men executed men, women, and children. I saw my friend Edith drop dead because of your men shooting her. She saved my life, and I saw hers end. But at the end of the day, it's just another day, another round of resources. What's a couple hundred dead bodies? After all, you're just trying to survive, huh?"

"Maybe you do get it…" She says, not looking away from the window. "But, you also clearly don't understand how difficult it is to lead a community like Richmond in this day and age. The sacrifice, the effort, the sleepless nights, just hoping that you can afford to feed your people tomorrow because you just don't know, it all stacks up very quickly. What I've done here, it costs a piece of you, but what you get in return is worth its weight in gold." she tells me as a massive boom comes from down the street, followed by more screams and gunfire. "Oh no…"

"What happened?" I ask as I walk to the window to the sight before me. The truck, on fire, crashed into an oil tanker. Out of the flames and smoke, walkers stumble in. Fucking shit, it was a barrier. Wait. Kate? No. NO. KATE? Where the fuck is she?

"Just fucking great. Walkers? You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

"Shut the fuck up. Just shut the fuck up."

"You and your people have destroyed my fucking city. My people are dying. There are walkers all over now. You did this, you son of a bitch."

"What about my people? What about Tripp and his people? What about everyone you killed?"

"They don't matter, Ian. You know that. That's how people like us have survived. Your friends, lovers, family, all of them that are dead, that's all they are, dead. There's nothing that you can do. They don't matter. The living DO matter."

"You know what? Fuck you. This is on you. The years of raiding and looting finally caught up to you, and now here we are." I turn around to her, seeing her brandishing a large blade. "You should've killed me when you had the chance, you know that?"

"I still can, you know." She reminds me before rushing me, blade pointed right at me. I grab her wrists, the point of her blade mere inches away from my chest. Slowly but surely, I overpower her, attempting to wrestle the knife free. Finally, I knock it out of her hand, it clatters off to the side, before I'm met with a swift kick to my right knee, forcing me down and hitting my head hard on the floor. Dazed, I see her walk over to the knife, picking it up and turning back towards me, slowly walking.

"I've known you've existed for all of 20 minutes. But you've made those 20 minutes the most difficult of my fucking life. But now…" She says as she straddles me, aiming her knife right at my chest. "I can end this. This coup, this little rebellion you guys tried, it wasn't gonna work. The walkers are a mild setback at most. It was a cute attempt, but it was doomed from the start. I'd say give it another shot but, you know, I'm gonna kill you. You, Javier, Gabe, Clementine, Kate, Ava, and David. I'll kill you, and leave your bodies as a message to anyone who ever gets any bright ideas to cross me like that ever again. Goodbye, Mr. Sullivan."

Raising the knife over her head, I squirm out of the way as I hear her grunt and bring the knife down into the floorboards, jamming it in. I roll back towards her, landing a punch right on her jaw, stunning her and forcing her backwards. With my right hand, I grab the handle of the knife, trying to pry it free of the boards. Just as it's about to wiggle free, I feel the woman pounce on me, reaching for the knife herself. But finally, it pries free, and with my right hand, I swing my arm across my body, in a slashing motion.

The attack stops, and I look up to see Joan clutching at her neck, streaks of crimson running down her knuckles as she falls backwards, sitting on her heels. Looking up at me in a state of pure shock, eyes wide open.

I make sure to wipe the blade off on her shirt as she bleeds out. "You should've killed me when you had the chance."

"Go… to Hell." She gasps, despite her slit throat. More and more blood pours out, staining her orange shirt quite a bit.

I grin in her face. "I'll see you there."

With a single finger, I push her forehead back, and the rest of her body follows suit, and by the time the back of her head hits the ground, she's gone. Her lifeless eyes look up at the ceiling as I walk over to the corpse, smirking as I get my revenge. For Edith, for Mariana, for Tripp, for everybody that was lost from her actions. I pull out the M1911, the nickel plating shimmering in the light pouring in the window. Pointing it at her head, I pull the trigger, destroying her brain and any chance of her coming back. After taking a quick look around, I exit the apartment to go see the damage outside.

Jesus… they're everywhere. The herd poured in from where the tanker blew up, and the streets are flooded with walkers. Like Savannah, like Howe's, just a fucking mess of walkers. Down the road, I see them. David, Kate, Javi, Clem, and Gabe all run into a building down the road.

I make a run for it. As more and more walkers start pouring in, I pull out my AK-47 and start spraying automatic rounds in front of me, dropping more walkers, but attracting more towards me, from just about every direction. But I'm almost there. The building, 0512, is right there.

Click. Click.

"God Fucking Damn it!" I curse out loud as my rifle jams. Pulling out my M1911, I shoot the shots towards any walkers between me and the building. They drop like flies, but for every one I kill, it seems like five come towards me.

"Ian!" Kate yells to me as David walks out with his rifle, mowing down a part of the crowd, giving me an opening to run through to them.

So I do just that. I take off. The opening David made for me slowly closes, the walkers closing in on me.

Just as I think I have a breakaway, a hand grabs my ankle, tripping me to the ground. I turn back to see a walker grabbing my ankle, ready to sink his teeth in me.

 **BANG!**

The walker drops, and from behind me, more shots come, dropping some of the walkers coming at me, and an arm drags me by the collar backwards toward the building. I look up, it's Kate. Gun in one hand, my collar in the other, not unlike back at the junkyard. I spring to my feet, pulling out the M1911 and popping a couple walkers before we rush back inside, David slamming the door behind us and Javi barricading it with a couple old chairs. Finally, we have some space from the walkers, and I can finally catch my breath. I feel Kate's hand on my shoulder, and I look up at her.

"You ok?"

I chuckle as I continue to catch my breath, "Yeah. I'm good. Not bitten yet." I say with a grin. Once again, I cheat death. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome." David speaks up, almost somewhat irritated, before turning to his son. "You put up a good fight out there.", yet Gabe turns away.

"I don't care what you think."

"Gabriel! Do not take that tone with me!"

"You murdered that man! After they let you go! You're a killer, just like they said."

"Wait…" Kate says from behind them. "You did that? What the fuck, David?"

"You don't understand. It was them, or us. I had to do it! They wouldn't just let us go. They still would've killed us, sooner or later." David defends himself. But I shake my head in anger.

"You fucked this up. We could've been out of here without any of this happening. But now, there's walkers all over the damn place, and it's cause you wanted to start a fucking gunfight. Clint was letting us go. We should've been out of here by now, and the only one we would've lost is Tripp."

"Dad…" Gabe says. "His brains… they splattered all over me."

Ignoring my outburst at him, David goes to his son to console him. "You're my son. I'm doing what any parent would do to keep you safe." But Gabe ignores him, walking over to Javi, which pisses him off further. "Hey! Do not walk away from me when I am talking to you!"

"David, calm down. He's not a kid anymore. He doesn't need this." Javi tries to deescalate the situation, to little avail.

"No, Javi. What he needs is to keep his opinions to himself until he understands what the hell he's talking about." He throws his hands up in a fit of rage before coming back down. "I just want to protect you, Gabe. I've already lost you once, I'm not losing you again. Ok?"

"We made it through alive. Just be happy about that." Javi tells his brother.

"We need to check the other entrances. Make sure we're safe. Gabe, wanna help me out?"

Uneasily, Gabe looks at us before going with his father. Damn, he's really scared of him. And holy shit, David has lost his mind. I don't blame Gabe for being a little scared. Shit, I'd be, too. David, Gabe, and Clementine, who volunteered to go with Gabe, walk down a flight of stairs to go secure the other entrances.

I notice Kate accidently nudge me, and I look over at her nervous expression. As such, I try to console her.

"It's ok. Clem's with them."

"No, it's not that. It's… let's just… I'm all over the place." She tells me as she sits down on the stairs. "I need to focus on something. Anything."

"Let's see if there's a way we can fix this mess, alright?" I offer with a smile, which she returns.

"You think there's a way we can fix this? After the damage we've done?"

"We're either gonna have to find out or get eaten. I don't know about you, but I'd choose the prior more often than not." I sarcastically remark, getting a soft giggle out of her.

"You know just what to say." She smiles before pecking me on the lips.

"Let's go see if we can fix this, alright?"

"Let's go."

* * *

"Jesus fuck…" I mutter as Kate opens the door, leading to a hallway of apartments. People laying on the floor with bites, gunshot wounds, and other injuries everywhere. Men, women, children, just sitting there, suffering.

"This is a fucking nightmare." Kate says in pure shock at the sight before us.

"Mommy! It's them!" A little boy says to his mother as people start to notice us, giving us nasty looks.

"I'm glad Mariana didn't live to see this. To see what her father's become. To see what… I've done. She'd be scared, just like that little boy, that the monsters were coming for her next. She would never trust us again." She mutters, but I turn to her.

"Hey. This isn't on you. We're gonna get through this, together, alright?" I assure her.

"But what about these people, Ian? They're not as lucky as we are." She tells me as we walk down the hallway, past the grieving and suffering people. "I did this to them. That hole is there because of me. This is all my fault."

"This was an accident. You didn't do this on purpose. You can't pin this on yourself." I try to tell her, but she shakes it off.

"But it's still my fault. I can't leave until I make this right. All of it."

"Then let's make things right. We'll do it together." I tell her.

She smiles, even despite the circumstances. "I don't know if it's possible, but I feel a whole lot better knowing you're here with me."

Javi stops at an apartment with the door still slightly open, and motions for us to follow as he opens the door. I see who it is he's looking for. Eleanor, tending to a woman with a gunshot wound in her shoulder. She glares at us as she sees us come in.

"You've got a lot of fucking nerve showing up here!" She yells at us.

"This coming from the woman that sold us out to Joan? That's fucking rich." I fire back, she stands down a bit, crossing her arms but tearing up in her eyes.

"Look, you have to believe me. I never thought it'd be like this. But what's done is done. I don't have to like it, but I can't change it. But you… After that bullshit you pulled back there, you're unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable."

"Why'd you sell us out? You fucking betrayed us. I trusted you, WE trusted you. After everything Joan and her people did to you and Prescott, why would you, of all people, do that to us?" I ask her, waiting an answer of justification.

"I was triaging a bad situation. Their doctor is barely functioning. And before you guys fucked it all up, their walls worked." She justifies, but I shake my head out of pure rage.

"Did you ever think for a second that, maybe, if you hadn't sold us out, we could've gotten out of there without firing a shot? Tripp would be alive, we'd be out of here, and there wouldn't be fucking walkers all over the city?" I ask her, blinded by my rage from being sold out.

"Look, it's not just about me. I can actually save lives here- not just stitch them up and hope for the best. These people will die without me, Ian."

"I know she fucked us over, but she's trying to help them. She's trying to make things right. That's worth forgiving, right?" Kate tells me. I agree, but I'm not totally sold yet. After all, she sold us out, leading to Tripp's execution and a herd of walkers being unleashed onto the city.

"Look, I appreciate what you're doing for these people. But, you sold us out. You played a huge part in this. I'm not ready to forgive you yet. But if we both make it out of this, let's talk, alright?"

She crosses her arms, but gives me a nod. "Sure." She turns back to tend to the woman. With that, I turn to Kate, who turns to me.

"We should try to help." She says. "Not everyone is guilty here." The woman Eleanor is tending to starts to cry.

"Did you see a little girl out there? She was right behind me." Eleanor sympathetically shakes her head.

"I'm sorry. I didn't." she tells her with a frown.

"First Rufus, and now my baby girl Ida…" She buries her face into her hands and starts crying.

"She knew Rufus?" Javi asks his brother, who walks into the apartment with Gabe and Clem.

"She was her husband, until you shot him in the back." He sternly tells his brother, much to his surprise. "She's one of my people, Eleanor. What's going on with her?"

"She'll be alright. She's not bitten or anything. She caught a nine millimeter round in the shoulder. No serious damage. But she lost her daughter out there." She explains to David.

"God damn…" he frowns at her loss.

"Let's give her some privacy, it's the least we can do."

"I want to help. Just tell me what to do." Kate offers. Eleanor looks a bit skeptical, but accepts the help nonetheless.

"Ok, well-" She interrupted by the woman pointing her handgun at Javi, and everyone freezes in surprise.

"We're all fucking dead because of you!" She yells at him, through the tears.

"Hey… Easy…" Javi raises his hands to her, trying to bring the situation down, but she only takes it further.

"You blew a fucking hole in our wall! Got my little girl killed! Richmond was doing fine until your stupid asses showed up. And now we're dead fucking meat. So I might as well take out this asshole while I can."

"Fern-" David says to her.

"Shut up!"

"Look, put the gun down. You don't want to do this." Javi pleads to her, but she, blinded by the loss of her kid, isn't having it.

"Ida was my baby!"

"Stand down. Drop the gun. That's an order, Fern." David tells her, which she once again ignores.

But Kate steps in front of her, and I tense up. Kate, the woman I love, has the gun pointed right at her forehead. And she wanted to do this. She is willingly staring down the barrel of Fern's gun. And I know exactly why.

"Fern… This is all my fault. I caused the explosion. I got your daughter killed. Please, forgive me. It's my fault." She tells Fern, who starts to look uneasy about it all. It almost looks like she's about to stand down, so I go for the clincher.

"Fern, we've all lost more than we could have imagined these past four years. My parents, my brother, my sister, my wife, my friends. I understand as well as anybody how it feels to lose everyone you love. Hell, I had a career in the NFL that was taken from me because of this mess. Please, just put the gun down. We've lost so much already, I can't lose Javi or Kate, too."

She cries out, defeated, and as she is just about to lower the gun, David grabs her wrist and forces his other hand on her elbow, pushing in hard.

 **SNAP!**

I cringe at the sound of David snapping her arm like a candy bar, and the inevitable scream from Fern as she falls to the ground, holding her arm, which bends the wrong way. Everyone turns to David with shock, and clamors of "What the hell?" are thrown his way. And yet, he shows pride that he did that.

"You're welcome, Javi." David sternly looks back at his brother as he tosses Fern's gun to the side.

"David! Did you really need to break her arm? That wasn't necessary!" Javi yells to his brother, who doesn't look at irritated as I would've expected.

"Ok, don't thank me then." He says as he notices Fern moving backwards, towards her gun. David drws his firearm, pointing it at the woman.

"No!" Gabe yells out, going for his father. But, Gabe is unable to restrain his father, and Gabe is almost effortlessly shoved to the ground by his father, almost completely senselessly. David turns around to see his son on the floor, and his anger turns to complete and utter shock and shame.

"Gabe! Oh my God! I am so sorry. That was an accident!" He says to his son, walking towards him, but Gabe crawls away, terrified of his father.

"Y-You were gonna kill her!"

"She was going for her gun!" David justifies.

"Look at her!" Gabe cuts off his father, as attention goes back to Fern, curled up next t her couch and, in fact, not going for her gun.

"Gabe I-"

"She can't even stand up! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"That was uncalled for, David." Javi says as he checks up on Gabe.

"Gabe… I'm so sorry. You know I didn't mean to do that." He crouches toward his son, and I look to see everyone else back off, so I do the same. David notices this and our concerned expressions.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"They're scared, David." Javi explains to his brother, much to his confusion.

"Of what? I'm protecting them." He asks of his brother, inadvertently pointing his gun at us while doing so, which Kate notices.

"Then why are you pointing a gun at us?" she asks him, and he finally realizes what he's been doing. The room finally goes silent, except for Fern's soft sobbing.

"So I'm all alone?" David asks as he's met with more silence from us. As he comes to the realization, he walks out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him, leaving the rest of us shocked, confused, and concerned. Did David just ditch us? Can we even trust him? Can we fix this?

"I've seen that look in his eyes before," Kate remarks. "Javi, you should go after him. You're his brother."

He looks at the door, a little unsure about it all, but he nods after a little hesitation. "Yeah. Yeah alright." With that, he leaves to go find his brother, and the tension ceases a bit, as Eleanor tends to Fern's broken arm.

"So are we gonna talk about what the fuck just happened?" I ask around. "David just snapped this woman's arm. What the fuck is his problem?"

"He's lost his fucking mind. I told you I don't trust him earlier, but I'm legitimately scared of him now. He cannot be in charge. He's gonna get us all killed." Kate agrees with me.

"I told you, didn't I, Ian? You can't trust him. This is how David's been as long as I've known him." Clem tells me, and I see it now. He's a madman. Eleanor nods in agreement, but Gabe speaks up, despite being hit.

"Stop! He's my dad! We have to trust him!"

"Gabe, he is going to get us all killed." His stepmom explains. "He's dangerous. You know this."

"No! He knows what he's doing. We have to trust him. I'm not turning my back on him."

I look over to Kate, frustrated with Gabe, so I take over.

"Buddy, your dad… Your dad is being extremely reckless right now. And this is a situation where you can't be reckless. We need to be keeping a level head right now, not snapping someone's arm and then expecting praise for it. Your dad is looking out for us, sure, but the danger he's gonna put us in is gonna be the death of us if we're not careful."

"That's bullshit, Ian! My dad was in the army, he knows how to handle this. Trust me. He'll get us out of this!"

I shake my head and sigh. He's too loyal to his father. There's nothing I can do. Shrugging, I accept that the kid is gonna stand up for his dad, regardless of what happens, which I respect, but only to an extent. That doesn't change the fact that David is extremely dangerous. But I can't change Gabe's mind on that. It'll be up to him to do that.

"So what's the plan?" Kate asks as all eyes go to me.

All I can do is shrug. "Honestly, I don't fucking know. The good thing is, Joan's been dealt with, so she won't be bothering us anymore. The bad thing is, we have a thousand or so walkers and no way to get through them without getting mauled ourselves. So I guess we have no choice but to find David and Javi, and pray to God we can figure something out."

"You sure we can trust David with this?" Kate asks me, and once again, I shrug.

"I'm not sure if we can, but we don't have much of a choice. Given the circumstances, I'll take my chances."

"What're you guys gonna do?" Eleanor asks us as she finishes wrapping Fern's arm. "You see what it's like out there."

"I guess we're gonna try and save the city. If I die doing it, then I can say I died doing the right thing, you know?"

"I guess, but how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

I look around the room before shrugging once again. "Fuck, I don't know. I just wanna make things right."

Kate speaks up. "I like the idea of finding David and Javi. Even if we can't trust David entirely, I still think having everyone in the same spot to form a plan is the best idea. It'll make this whole process a lot easier."

I smile and nod. "I think that's a start. We're gonna need all the help we can get here."

"Alright then, let's do this!" Gabe exclaims, excited to get to work. Even if he's blindly following his father, at least his heart's in the right place.

We walk out of the apartment, and I come face-to-face with Ava, who does not look happy.

"Is Javi with you?"

"No, we're looking for him and David." I explain to her.

"Then I'm coming with. I wanna have a talk with him." Judging by past events and her stern tone, It's safe to guess what that talk is gonna be about, which she has a right to be pissed off about, but Joan put us in a no-win situation.

"I get it, Ava, but you have to understand that there was no right decision there. I don't know what javi's thought process was, but either way, we lose someone important. If you wanna blame someone, blame Joan."

"Maybe you're right, but at the end of the day, he chose Tripp over me. And that's just how it was. It's shitty, but I'm not gonna question his thought process and frankly, we have bigger issues here."

"For what it's worth, you and Tripp were both vital. I don't know how Javi decided, but if Joan killed you instead, we're still losing someone important to this whole thing. But I'm glad you're still sticking with us. We're gonna fix this."

"Save the flattery, buddy." She smiles. "Let's fix this fucking mess."

 **Ok, so I've mapped this out pretty much. I think there'll be roughly 3 more chapters of main story after this, and then one final chapter to wrap it all up. I can try to get this to one chapter a week, but I can't guarantee anything. I'm not gonna rush myself on this, of course, but I also want to finish it so I can focus on other things, maybe even another story, if I feel like it. I hope you all enjoyed, and as always, constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated. See you next week, hopefully.**


	39. Love

Chapter 39 - Love

"They're here! I found them!" Kate yells out to the rest of us from the top of the stairs. We searched every floor of the building, looking for the two of them. Of course, the just so happened to be on the roof, looking over the entire city, and the walkers flooding the streets.

We all regroup at the top, David and Javi apparently reached an understanding and it seems like everything will be cool for the next five minutes or so, for once.

Ava, of course, is pretty pissed off at Javi. I mean, I can't exactly blame her. I would be, too. But that's just how it is. And even as the two talk and Javi defends his case, I can see that Ava at least wants to still help us, so I can live with that.

While everyone else tries to set things straight in terms of what went down back there, I look over the ledge at the damage that's been done. They're everywhere. Thousands of walkers, just walking around, flooding the streets. I've never seen anything like this.

"Jesus…" Kate says as she walks up next to me. "There's so many of them. And they keep pouring in."

"You don't know the half of it." Ava remarks as she joins us. "The herd has taken over Richmond. The streets are filled with walkers, and with that hole in the wall, they're gonna keep coming. We're not safe here. No one is. This city is fucked."

"So what do we do?" Gabe asks us.

Javi is the first to speak up. "We're gonna stabilize the city. We've gotta figure out how to make it safer for everyone."

"There were some construction vehicles when we went to go and pick up the armored truck." Kate adds. "We can use those to stop the muertos, theal the breach, and save Richmond."

David turns around and points to the North. "That's over by the motor pool at the water tower. We can use the highway overpass to get there."

We all look as Javi turns and looks to an adjacent apartment building with a balcony and some stairs leading to higher levels.

"We're gonna have to jump for it." He tells us, and my mind gets flashbacks of Savannah. Ben, the metal spike, Kenny's sacrifice. Fuck. But this jump, it's not as far.

Javi's the first to go, and with a running start, he leaps, coming down easily on the metal platform and signaling the rest of us. Gabe goes next, and then Clementine. Ava goes, and then David, thus leaving me and Kate.

"You can do this. It's not that far of a jump." I assure her, but she clearly doesn't do heights. So, I go in front. With a deep breath, I take a running start, and as I reach the edge, I take the leap.

With a grunt, I land on the metal platform. Nothing to it. I look back at Kate, who looks slightly more confident. I motion for her to make the jump over, and she does, easily leaping onto the metal platform next to me, and the two of us walk up the stairs to the rooftop, where everyone else already is.

"Alright. That's everyone." David announces as we reach the rest of them. "Keep your eyes open. Stay aware of your surroundings. Let's move out."

With that, we make our way across the rooftops, with Kate walking next to me towards the back of the group.

"So what happened back there? With the truck?" I ask her.

She frowns. "Well, Javi called me over on the walkie to call me over, but when they started throwing tear gas, I could barely see. And then one of them threw a molotov at the truck, and when I panicked, I lost control of the truck and crashed into the oil tanker. That's how I blew the hole in the wall and fucked this city over."

I shake my head. "If that's how it went down, then it's really not your fault. If anything, it's that guy's fault. There's nothing you could've done about that, and you know that."

She frowns and looks down. "But it was me driving the truck. Not him. Me driving that truck caused the explosion."

I sigh and put my hand on her shoulder. "Look, you can't be blaming yourself for this. It was a freak accident because someone attacked you. I know you wouldn't do that on purpose. That's not the Kate Garcia I know and lo-" I cut myself off in case David hears me, but she still blushes regardless.

"I know you're trying to help me, but the only way I'll feel right about this is if I can help make things right."

"Then that's what we'll do, alright?"

She smiles, "Yeah. We're gonna do it."

On the other side of the rooftop, a ramp made of old highway signs leads up to some stairs, which in turn lead to the overpass.

"Stay sharp." David tells us as he takes point. From down below, I hear a man scream. I look, and it's Sleeping Beauty from the armory, with a nice big chunk taken from his arm from several walkers. Before anyone can do anything, the walkers pounce on him, and the poor bastard doesn't stand a chance. Even from so high up, the sounds of him getting torn apart hit me loud and clear. What an awful fucking way to go.

"That's why we need to be careful, so we don't end up like him." David remarks as he keeps making his way up. "He was alone, we're not. So if we just stick together, we'll be ok."

We all make our way up the stairs to the overpass, and we collect ourselves at the top, just to find a few walkers scattering the area. Javi and David clear out the few walkers with ease as the rest of us collect ourselves and we keep moving down the overpass. Old-run down cars litter the area, some of them with carcasses of people that weren't so lucky still inside. Others are stacked upon one another. Maybe as obstacles, maybe just to block the areas. The latter of which comes into view a little ways down. A couple dozen or so cars, all stacked upon one another. It's completely impassable, except for a small ledge on the side. David is, once again, the first to go, slowly moving sideways on the narrow ledge. Clementine and Gabe follow, and I hop in behind them. I take a look back, and of course there's more walkers. But, they're pretty far away. We've got some time.

With another deep breath, I start slowly shuffling across. I look down at the sight below, and I immediately regret it. We are so fucking high up. My stomach lurches at the thought of how easily I could trip and fall to my death. All it would take is that one wrong step.

I reach the end, and I step away from the ledge, toward safe ground. Kate finishes, too, and walks right next to me, breathing deeply, and thankful to not have to deal with the heights, either.

"You know, I didn't think there was much more that could scare me in this world anymore. Just goes to show you, life is full of surprises." She remarks.

"Hey, at least we made it through. I'm sure some haven't been as fortunate." I reply back to her as we hear Javi cry out, struggling to keep his balance.

"Grab my hand!" Ava yells to him, and he gladly does so, regaining his balance, narrowly avoiding a gruesome, albeit quick, fall to his death. Balanced, and regained his composure, he gets back to crossing over, And Ava does the same.

"You've got to be more careful!" She scolds him as a walker emerges from the windshield-less car, grabbing Ava and, before anyone can react, sends her over the ledge, plummeting onto the street well below us.

"Ava! No!" David cries out at the loss of his former lieutenant, while the rest of us just stare in stunned silence. She died, just like that. What the hell?

"Holy shit... " Gabe whispers. "Ava, she… She's gone."

"I would've died a long time ago without her. Thank you, Ava. Goodbye, my friend." David somberly walks away and make his way further down the highway.

Minutes later, the water tower comes into view, as David points out the tall structure on our right. He leads us to a small ladder on the side of the overpass that leads down to the small catwalk around the tower. Going down the ladder, we start to hear that noise again.

I reach the bottom of the catwalk to see what we're dealing with. A lot of fucking walkers.

"I miss when all we did was track the herd." Javi remarks as he joins us. Yeah, so much for that.

"We're not getting anywhere without one of those vehicles." Kate reminds us. She's right, and there's plenty of construction vehicles lying around, ready to be used.

"So how do we get to them? It's not like we can just ask the walkers to move out of the way."

"We could use that generator to distract them with the sound." Gabe points out at a generator on the other side of the area. It would work, but we'd need a way through the walkers. And I know just the way. I look over at Clementine who, looking back at me, gives me a look that we're on the same page.

"That's a great idea, Gabe, but how do we get to it?" his father asks. And Clem speaks up.

"Cut a walker open and cover yourself in its guts. Then, you can slip right through them."

Everyone else looks at her with disgusted looks, which gets a soft chuckle out of me.

"Please tell me you're kidding." Javi says. Clem shakes her head with a smile, almost amused by it all.

"So… who's gonna do it?" Everyone looks at each other sheepishly, not wanting to do it, with good reason. I've already done that once, I'm not trying to do it again. But then again, it doesn't seem like anyone else is gonna do it, so I might just have to bite the bullet.

"Fuck it, I'll do it." Javi volunteers himself, much to my relief. As he goes down the ladder to the ground, Clem gives him one last piece of advice.

"Look, it smells really bad. Like, way worse than you think."

With a nod, he goes down the ladder, the rest of us watching in anticipation.

"This better work." David remarks as we watch his brother kill a walker and drag it away, soon to but cut open.

"It does. It's fucking crazy but it works." I assure him, thinking back to Howe's, and how we all slipped through the herd, relatively unscathed. We look on as Javi emerges, covered in a dark coating of walker guts, and starts making his way to the generator. Just as we did back at Howe's, and how I assume Lee and Clem did back in Savannah, Javi takes it slow, moving at about the same pace as the walkers, and keeping with the flow of the herd. Just like we planned, he gets through easily, amid a couple funny looks from some walkers, but he makes it. He quietly lifts the hood of the generator and pushes a button, and the quiet rumblings quickly turn loud, and the walkers take immediate notice, the small crowd shuffling and stumbling towards the noise, as Javi slips away from them and makes his way around the distracted crowd.

"That's our cue. Move slowly and keep quiet." I tell the others, who respond with some quiet nods, and I lead the way down the ladder, stepping back to watch the walkers flocking over to the generator as the rest come down and join me. With David being the last one down, I lead them to the garage, where Javi stands, waiting for us.

"You did it, Javi!" Kate says as she hugs her brother-in-law.

"Barely." his brother snidely adds, but he shakes it off.

"Now that we're here, we've gotta find something to seal the breach with. All we need is the right vehicle." He tells us as Kate turns to a large construction vehicle. David looks to a vehicle, too, but not the one Kate looks at. An older truck. That's not gonna seal the breach.

Javi notices this, too, and decides to speak up. "Uh, David? That's not gonna do the job, man."

His brother looks to him, and smiles. "Yes, it is."

"What are you doing?" Javi asks.

"The right thing. I'm leaving. We're all leaving." David responds, looking back at the truck.

"What? You saw it- We all saw it. We're surrounded by the herd."

"I'm taking my family out of here. Ian, Clem, you guys helped keep them safe, you're coming too."

I look to Clem, who scowls at David, and I look back at David.

"Everyone in Richmond's gonna die. We're they're only hope for anything. Are you gonna put that on us?" I ask him.

"They don't matter, Ian. Don't you get that? It's all about us now." He responds to me, and Kate can't stand his answer.

"This shit all started the day we knocked on Richmond's door. We brought this upon these people. All of us. We can't abandon them, not after all we've done."

David rubs the bridge of his nose in annoyance, trying to reach his wife. "We're going home, Kate. We're going back to the last place where we were a family. We're starting over again. We're all together as a family, finally. It's time. A new day, a new life."

"But why not Richmond? Why can't we save Richmond and make that our new home?" Javi asks of his brother, but David simply scoffs.

"Richmond is gone, Javi. I'm not gonna let the people I love die trying to save a dead dream."

Dead silence. No one wants to say anything. That is, except for one.

"I'll go with you, Dad." Gabe speaks up from the back, much to everyone's dismay. With that, he walks over and stands next to his father. Kate frowns, trying to convince Gabe otherwise.

"Gabe… Is this what you really want?"

"I know it's scary out there, but I have to." He reassures his stepmother, and his father kneels down next to him for some additional encouragement.

"You don't have to be afraid, Gabe. I won't let what happened to Mariana happen to you. You have my word. I will protect you the right way."

"Mariana… Shit... I can't believe I'd already forgotten about that. It's been what, a week? And so much has happened. She was a good kid. She didn't deserve what happened to her. Not her, of all people. She knew how to brighten the mood, even at the worst points." I say, thinking about Mari. Even in the short time I knew her, I considered her a friend. One of the nicest kids I knew, just to have an awful fate like that. But leaving like this, she would have never done this. Her heart was in the right place. She knew what was right and wrong. She knew what it meant to be a good person. She would've helped us. How fucking dare he use her name as a talking point.

"I'm not missing another minute with my family now." He tells me, and Gabe nods.

"This is what I want."

Kate sighs, defeated. "I understand, Gabe. " But she then adamantly looks David in the eyes, "I'm still going back. I won't be able to live with myself if I don't try to help the people in Richmond."

Once again, David scoffs. "You won't be able to live at all if you do that. Richmond is compromised. It doesn't matter if there were five of us or five hundred. We would all die. I know a losing battle when I see one. We're moving out. Everyone get in. That's an order!"

 **SMACK!**

My jaw drops at how loud the sound of Kate's palm meeting David's face is. As he stands there, shocked, Kate calls him out on his bullshit.

"How fucking dare you? What will it take, David? What will it take for you to understand that you do not get to do that? We are not your soldiers! You know what? Run away. Go be a deserter. I am done with you!"

With that, she stands back at his shocked expression, as she does something that even surprises me. "Let's go, Ian."

Confused, yet slightly amused, he asks his now, I guess, ex-wife a question. "Why the fuck do you think he would go with you?"

Smirking, Kate walks up to me. She grabs my hands, putting them on her waist, and pulls me in for a kiss, right in front of David. This one almost feels sweeter, but I honestly couldn't explain why. As she pulls away, she gives me a smile before turning back to David.

"Tell him."

"Ian… What the fuck is this?" David growls at me as he balls up his fist.

"I'm in love with her. And she deserves someone who'll treat her right. That's me. I'm who she wants. And that's how it fucking is. It was this way before you came back into the picture, and it's how it's gonna be with you back, whether you like it or not."

"You son of a bitch!" He roars at me. "I'll kill you!" The older man walks at me, pulling out his sidearm, just as Javi steps in between us.

"David. Stop."

"Javi, what are you doing?"

"This is fucking dumb, David. She's with who she wants. Stop."

"So you support this shit?"

"I do."

David's bewildered expression turns to that of seething rage. He walks toward Javi, gritting his teeth and his face turning a shade of deep red.

"I should've known. I should've known the night Pa died. You weren't there. Blood is worthless to you." Javi slowly backs away as his brother keeps coming. "Just like he was worthless to you. Just like I am worthless to you. Well it's time for you to find out what blood really means!" He yells out as he throws a punch and knocks Javi backwards.

"What do you have to say for yourself… brother?" David asks as Javi holds his jaw.

Weakly, Javi spits out some blood, before looking back up at his brother. "I love you."

David looks back at his brother, shocked, but he shakes his head. "No… No you don't get to say that!" He throws a punch to Javi's gut, and then gets him with an uppercut to send him to the ground.

"Jesus Christ, stop!" Kate yells to her ex-husband, who ignores her and goes to a toolbox, pulling out a wrench and turning back to his brother, who tries to crawl away.

"How fucking dare you?" He yells to Javi as he stands up. Javi looks him dead in the eyes, and utters the phrase again.

"I love you."

"No! Stop saying that!" David stikes him in the face with the wrench, sending him back down to the ground. This time, David pins him down, holding the wrench against Javi's throat in a sort of choke hold.

"Dad, no!" Gabe tries to wrestle the wrench free, but David shoves him aside, not even realizing when he hits Gabe with the wrench, right in the forehead, leaving a nasty welt.

"David!" Kate yells again as she and I rush over to Gabe to help him up. I turn to Clem, who looks over to me.

"End this." I tell her as she walks behind David, and simply points the cool steel of her pistol on the back of his neck, and he promptly stops, turning around to her and surrendering. Without warning, she turns ever so slightly, and fires a shot, right into the walker's skull.

"Holy shit!" She yells out as we all realize that the generator shut off, and the walkers finally noticed us.

"Fall back!" I yell to Javi as Kate, myself, and the rest of us run back to the garage, getting ready to hold off the walkers here. As we turn around, we see David, holding the door up by himself.

"David? What are you doing?" His brother asks. But David ignores him, simply slamming the door down with a loud crash.

"What the fuck is he doing?" I ask as I run over to the door, lifting it up to see David speed off in the truck, flattening several walkers in the process.

"So what now?" I ask.

"We can't wait any longer. We have to go help Richmond." She turns to a bulldozer in the junkyard, and then back to me. "I'm getting on that bulldozer."

"What about Gabe?" Clem asks, but Kate frowns at the teen.

"Gabe wanted to go. He did. We all heard it."

Clem lowers her head and frowns, a single tear running down her cheek. "You're… You're right."

"I'm going to save Richmond. Someone has to." Kate says, and I nod in agreement.

"I'm coming with. That's not something you can do alone."

Clem turns towards an old motorcycle before telling us her plan. "I'm getting on that bike and going for Gabe. What's your plan, Javi?"

"I'm going with you, Clem. You guys think you'll be ok?" Javi asks as he looks over at us.

"Look, we're either gonna get mauled or we're gonna be successful. Having you around isn't gonna change much about that. Go after your brother. We'll do what we can over in Richmond."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely." I assure him. "Now get going, David's probably a good ways ahead right now.

"If you say so. Good luck out there."

"You too." I nod to my friend as he gets on the bike with Clementine and speeds off, leaving me, Kate, and the bulldozer.

"So this is it. We get to save the city." she says as she stands next to me, and takes my hand into hers.

I smile. "Yeah. I guess we do. But Kate, you should know that there's a very good chance that this is gonna be a suicide mission. Me and you, against a thousand or so walkers, the odds are gonna be stacked against us."

"You scared?" she asks me with a teasing smile. And I shake my head.

"I'm not afraid of death. But I am afraid of losing another woman I love, so if you wanna sit this one out, I wouldn't hold it against you."

She responds to this by kissing me, a long, passionate kiss, before breaking it off with a soft smile. "I'm not going anywhere" she whispers in my ear.

With an accepting smile, I nod. And I look back behind me, a couple AK-47's left lying up against a locker. Fully loaded and seemingly in pretty good condition. I pick them up, inspecting them a bit before handing her one.

"If we're gonna save Richmond, we're gonna need all the firepower we can get."

"Is that gonna be enough?" she asks.

I shrug, "Unless you can find anything else, it'll have to be."

We get onto the bulldozer, and with a loud roar, the vehicle fires up, full speed ahead to Richmond. We came here to save the city, and that's what we're gonna do.

 **Next week's gonna be it. The climax of Season 3 and ultimately, it's gonna be just about the end of the story. A couple of concluding chapters afterwards, but the main action's gonna be over after this next chapter. Hope you're as excited as I am :]. Constructive Reviews greatly appreciated.**


	40. A Suicide Mission

Chapter 40 - A Suicide Mission

Maybe an hour has passed by, and the gates of Richmond finally come into view. Daytime has turned to dusk, and the only sounds I can hear are the sounds of the thousands of walkers we're about to take on. My stomach lurches. This is it. We either die, or we seal the breach. It's one or the other. Even with the thousands of walkers eagerly waiting to tear us apart, I almost feel confident. Do or die, I think we can do it. If I die here, I'll at least be able to say I went out trying to do the right thing.

"Look!" Kate point out in front of us, and in the dusk, I see a couple figures on horseback. One of them, the horse stomping down on a walker's skull, turns back and grins.

"Well there's a happy sight!"

"Holy shit! Jesus! Is that you?"

"I told you I wouldn't forget about you all! Once I got in contact with my people, I headed right back. I had to make sure you folks were safe."

"Well, you see, this place went to shit in a hurry!" I tell him as I gun down a couple walkers coming toward us from the left.

"I can see that," He tells me as he swings his katana, slicing a walker in half with ease. "Can you help us get the gate open?"

"Pull up to the gate, and I'll open it up." I tell Kate.

"Get in the busket and I'll lift you up." She instructs me, and I look back at her in confusion.

"The what?"

"The scooper in front!" She clarifies, and I nod. Carefully walking to the front, a pair of hands grab my ankle. A walker, desperately clinging onto me. I jump back, surprised, but I hold onto the railing, kicking at the walker. Soon enough, he lets go, and I hear the crunches and squishes of the bulldozer running it over. I look back at the gruesome sight in disgust. Yuck.

Kate runs over a fence, and tilts the busket towards me. I leap in, narrowly avoiding some walkers reaching in, as I feel myself rising higher up. I see the ledge, but I'll need to jump for it, as Kate cant get me any higher. With a deep breath, I squat down, and spring myself up, catching the ledge and barely able to lift myself up onto the platform. To my left, a ladder, which I climb up to the control panel.

I groan to find a wide variety of buttons and levers. None of them labeled "Open Gate", or even labeled in general. I push one of the buttons, a large horn blares. Definitely not it.

"Are you trying to attract more walkers?" Jesus sarcastically asks me. Yeah, cause more walkers would make this shit so much easier.

I press a green button towards the top, and I hear the slow creaking of the fence opening up. Jackpot.

I make my way down to the lower platform, and Kate helps lower me down back to the bulldozer. With the gate open, we roll into the city, us, Jesus, and his two men, also on horseback and wielding katanas.

As we drive through the cities, running over some stragglers in the process, Jesus and his men take care of most of them, slicing through the walkers with ease with their swords, all while moving fast on horseback. This helps clear a way to the breach. That is, until we get to the actual breach, where a horde awaits us.

Fully confident, and rifle raised, I point forwards. "Full steam ahead!"

Kate keeps it going, and I start spraying shots into the crowd in front of us, bodies dropping and getting torn the bits. I turn to my left, where a couple grab at the bulldozer in an attempt to get up to me. One by one, I shoot them down, switching my AK-47 to semi-automatic to conserve ammo, before setting my sights on the walkers in front, a couple stuck on the busket as Kate points out to me. I dispatch them easily, and then start spraying more rounds into the herd.

"We can plug the breach with the truck!" Kate points out as the truck that started this trouble comes into view. She drives up to it, making sure the busket is fully beneath it, and pulls a lever back, lifting the truck into the air. Continuing forward, she runs over more walkers, just as my rifle goes empty.

"Damn it! I'm out!" She hands me her rifle, fully loaded.

"You can thank me later." She smugly smiles as she gets back to driving, and I get back to clearing a way for her.

Finally, I can see the gap. It's not too far, and the truck should plug it up perfectly. She pulls up a little further, and sets it down, crushing a dozen or so walkers. But, more importantly, it fits perfectly, like a puzzle piece.

"That's it! We did it!" I exclaim as I hop off. Kate does the same running right into my arms as she laughs in relief. Our lips lock together, albeit for a moment as I open my eyes and quickly move her aside. Pulling out my sidearm and firing a single shot into the walker's forehead. She looks at me with total shock. It was about to ambush us while we were kissing. That would be painfully ironic. But alas, we're still fine.

"Let's get out of here." She suggests, and I nod as we run over to regroup with Jesus and his men.

"Jesus! We need to round up these walkers!" One of his men yells out. Jesus, noticing Kate and I running over, smiles as he kills one last walker.

"When I came back here, I thought we were coming back to, well, not this." He warmly smiles as he sheathes his katana. "Just a little surprising, that's all."

"Yeah… Some things have happened since last time. A couple difficulties that's all."

"Well that's certainly one way of putting it." He remarks. And Kate speaks up excited.

"Ian, look!"

I turn to see them. Javi, Gabe, and Clem, all walking towards us. No David. So that's gotta mean…

I walk over to the three of them, Gabe noticeably banged up, but not bitten. "You guys alright?"

"Yeah." Javi somberly replies. "We're fine."

"What happened?"

"David's truck crashed and got overrun with walkers. We were barely able to pull Gabe out of there. But David… he wasn't so fortunate." Javi explains, and Kate looks to me, almost some sort of regret in her eyes.

"At least you guys made it back. We've sealed the breach, and Jesus and his men are working on getting the rest of the walkers out of here. I think it's safe to say we did it."

"Where was the crash?" Kate asks as a light rain starts to fall on us.

"Just outside of town." Javi explains. "Not too far away."

"Can you take the kids somewhere safe?"

"Sure."

"Come on, Ian."

"Where are we going?" I look at Kate with some confusion.

"A funeral." She answers as I rush to follow her. And it all becomes clear.

* * *

The light rain has turned into a drizzle as a pile of bodies and that blue truck David left in comes into view. Kate and I walk over to take a look at the damage. The truck, pretty much totaled, but totally empty. So David, he's gotta be-

"Oh my God…" I hear Kate say from around the corner. "David…"

I walk up next to her, David's corpse sitting against the wall, his blank expression looking right back at her. A bullet wound in his head, and a bite mark in his neck. God fucking damn.

"I can't imagine how Gabe feels." She remarks. And I can't blame her for wondering. Gabe is half my age, and I couldn't help but break down that first night. But Gabe, he's 13, and just saw his dad die. God damn… This world is changing kids in a bad way.

"I had to put down my parents the night this shit started. I was 21 at the time. Four years later, and I don't know if I have it in me to put down another person I love, especially after I lost Carley. I can only imagine how he's holding up."

"Oh Ian… I'm so sorry."

I shake my head. "It's fine. I'm over it."

She crouches next to David's body, fishing through his shirt, before pulling out something shiny. "He talked about this every day. What to do when he died." She closes his eyes before continuing. "He was convinced he'd die in the field. Every day, he talked about it as casually as talking about the weather. He'd talk about his military funeral the way other people would talk about retirement plans. He'd only promise to change the subject if I promised him I'd bury these." She reveals to me what she pulled out. His dogtags. "He didn't care about burying his body. As far as he was concerned, this was him."

She finds a small patch of dirt and starts digging a small hole for his tags, placing them inside and then covering it up again.

"We should probably say something, you know?" She suggests, and I shrug. I guess I could say something.

"David, I'm sorry. I'm sorry it had to come to this. I wish things could've been different. I'll watch Gabe. And I'll take care of Kate." I look to her, and she smiles back to me.

"Do you want to say anything?"

She doesn't say anything. Instead, she crouches down to the grave she made, and places her wedding ring on it.

"Come on." She smiles to me as we start making our way back to Richmond. With her left hand, she grabs my right hand, and for the first time, we really feel like a couple. At least, to me it does. With all the shit that's gone down the last few days, it finally seems like there's gonna be some peace and quiet. Maybe just for a little bit, but after the last few weeks, I think we've earned this.

But then again, maybe Richmond can turn out to be the long-term solution I've been looking for. And having Kate right by my side, maybe this'll be it.

 **Well, I've finished writing the rest of the story. And since I wanna finish up this story, I'm gonna put these last couple of chapters up on Thursday and then next Monday to finish it off. Thnk you all for supporting this story, it really means a lot to me, more than any of you guys know. Although there won't be much morein terms of action or plot, these last two chapters are gonna wrap it all up. Thanks for reading 3**


	41. A New Day

Chapter 41 - A New Day

3 Days Later

The sun shines brightly over Richmond, now walker-free and working hard to get back to the condition it once was. We lost hundreds to the breach, and the devastation was massive. And yet, even with all this, we work to bring it back. We try our best to bring things back to the way things used to be. There's a lot to do, but the things we can do here are worth more than any sort of weapon in this world.

In the chapel, right in the middle of town, a few of the people set up a memorial to those we've lost from this mess. We try to honor their memory as their faces fade from ours. After all, those memories are all we have left of them, when life's taken everything else.

Kate and I walk up to the chapel, pictures of Mariana, David, Tripp and Ava in hand. Even as they've been taken from us, we try to honor them for who they were and what they've done.

Kate puts up the first picture. Mariana. The bright, level-headed, sympathetic child that was robbed of a bright future from a senseless attack. She never knew her father was still out there. Maybe things would be different here. Maybe things would be worse. I don't know. Maybe it's a good thing she didn't have to suffer through this. But at the same time, to see someone with so much promise at such a young age, just taken, as she was, it's tragic.

Tripp, my friend. If he wasn't so welcoming, Kate wouldn't have made it out of Prescott, much less even make it to Richmond. The man saved our asses with his generosity, only to be executed for standing up for himself and his people. Someone as strong as him, yet as kind as him, those kind of people don't come around too often, much less in this world.

Ava, willing to go against the people that branded loyalty into her to fight for what was right. Without her, there is no uprising, and no change here. Her accident was tragic, but she will be remembered as the one that helped spark the change here. There's no question in my mind that she was one of the most important people in this whole operation, in terms of supplying and coordinating everything, that is.

Finally, David. The man that helped bring this all together, and while he was a psychopath hellbent on achieving his goals, he also was the entire backbone of us completing this whole thing. He probably spent his last seconds cursing my name for being in love with Kate, and frankly, I wouldn't blame him. But despite his recklessness, I can at least appreciate his loyalty and that he at least did the things he did with our best interests in mind, for the most part, even if he did some fucked up things.

Kate sighs as I put up David's picture. "It was his own fault. If you regret helping me. If you're feeling any guilt, bury it. I mean it. Don't let what David did eat you up inside."

"You're right. We need to move on." I agree with her. "What's done is done. We just gotta move forward."

"You're right." She nods. "We do. And we will."

With a final sigh, she turns and walks back towards the exit.

"Usually the quiet scares me." she remarks, noting how everything is eerily silent.

"Yeah? What about now?"

"There's a lot of work to be done. The herd could come back. Still though, I feel more calm here than I ever did in an old van on a street with no street lights. We earned this, Ian. We earned feeling calm in the quiet."

"Well, like you said, we've got a lot of work to do. We're not out of this yet."

"I know, I know. But still, having you around, I feel more comfortable than ever. And these last few days, they've had me thinking… a lot… about us."

I give her a confused look, before she hits me with what she's thinking.

"I think we should start a family. You and me. A fresh start, I think it'd be really good for us. I know it might seem a little soon, but I think I'm ready to settle down, have some kids, get married, you know?"

Surprised, I can't help but grin. But then, a sinking feeling in my stomach, as my mind flashes back to two years ago. Tennessee. Carley and I had this same conversation. Right before she was taken from me. Furthermore, that reminds me. I reach into my back pocket, the picture of her that Sarah took back at the cabin. That one of her by herself. A single tear rolls down my cheek thinking about it. Yet, with a sigh, I look back up at Kate, with a wide smile.

"She'd have wanted me to move on by now. Let's do it. Let's start a family."

"You don't think it's selfish? It's not exactly the safest world outside of Richmond. Or inside it, truth be told."

I smile back at her. "As long as I've got you, I like our odds."

She and I lock lips, this time not interrupted by any straggling walkers, before she breaks it to look back at the memorial.

"We're gonna be up there before we know it."

"All the more reason to do something now, right?" I smile, before walking back to the memorial, pinning the picture of my wife on the board.

"Rest easy, baby. I love you."

I feel Kate wrap an arm around me as I stand there, taking a minute to think about Carley. So much has happened since. I've changed a lot. Life's changed a lot. But the fight for survival stayed the same. It's not over yet. Maybe it never will be.

"She was really pretty. I'm sure she made you really happy."

"She did. She really did. But like I said, I gotta move on. I'm with you now. And if we're gonna start a family together, I need to let go of the past. I lost her two years ago. I can't dwindle on it."

She and I turn toward the exit, once again. I put my arm around her, and she rests her head on my shoulder. She and I finally walk outside, the bright sunlight hitting our eyes harshly. But as I look down, I see a familiar person sitting on the steps, reading a novel.

"Conrad!" I exclaim, surprised to see him here. "I thought you were on your way out."

The older man turns back to me with a smile and shrugs. "Eh, I didn't feel right leaving things as is, you know?"

"I'm glad to see you back. I knew you'd make the right call and come back."

"Hey come on, kid. Don't get soft on me now." He smiles as he gets back to his book. I turn back to Kate, about to head back to our place, but I see someone else, just out of the corner of my eye.

"I'll catch up to you in a sec. There's someone else I have to talk to." I tell Kate, and she gives me a smirk.

"Don't make me wait too long, handsome." She tells me as she walks off to our place by herself. I lightly jog over to the man on horseback who helped save this city.

"You heading out?" I ask Jesus, lightly petting the horse. And he gives me a nod of confirmation.

"Yes, indeed. We came here to put an end to the raiding, and it looks like that's been dealt with. I'm glad we got it settled."

"I appreciate the help, Jesus. We could really use a guy like you around here."

"As nice as that would be, I have other people to tend to. But don't worry, I'll be around. I don't meet many people like you nowadays, Ian. Someone that's genuinely good. I'm glad I was able to help out. But this place needs someone to lead it now. Second chances are in short supply these days. That's what this place can be, if you let it. Though I should tell you, life within walls is a lot different than on the road. You can't take shortcuts like Joan. You gotta do the right thing. Always." I think back to Wellington. Yeah, I know what life within walls is like. Maybe that's the best thing for right now, especially if Kate and I are about to start a family.

"Absolutely. The last thing the world needs is more people like her."

"Well said. And you're exactly right. I know you're not like her, but still, just make sure. I'm not concerned though. I can read people pretty well, it's a little gift of mine. You're a capable guy, Ian. Change is in the air here. You can lead the change here, and I think you should. For the better. God knows this town can use it."

"Let me teach you how to use your strength and build a community better than anyone could imagine." Carver's words echo in the back of my mind, and my stomach lurches. Is this it? Was Carver going to be right after all?

No. I won't let him. I'll take responsibility, but I won't do what he did. In fact, I'll do it better. Bigger, better, and stronger. I'll make sure of that. But I'm gonna do it right. Not the way Carver did. Not the way Joan did.

"I'll do it. I'll lead Richmond in the right direction."

"Then as far as I'm concerned, Richmond's in much better hands than before. Just stay vigilant. Trouble never stays too far away." He shakes my hand before riding off toward the exit.

I turn back to see Javi and Clementine talking with a man in a white doctor's coat, I assume Dr. Lingard. The three of them talk for a bit before Dr. Lingard goes on his way, and Javi and Clem talk for a bit themselves, before they walk away as well.

I catch up to them and I finally hear what they're saying.

"He belongs with you Clementine. Bring him back." Javi tells her, and she gives Javi a warm smile and a hug.

"What's going on?" I ask to see Clementine turn to me.

"I'm going after AJ. I have to see him, Ian."

I chuckle lightly and nod. "Yeah. I figured you'd be going to him soon enough. But you should wait. Let us help."

She shakes her head. "I can't, Ian. I need to see him. Don't worry about me. Focus on the bleeding over here, I'll be fine."  
Knowing I can't fight her on it, I kneel down to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Alright. I trust you, Clem. He should be with you. Bring the kid back, alright?"

She smiles before hugging me. "You got it."

* * *

Hours later, Me, Kate, Javi and Gabe all meet Clem at the gate. Bag in one hand, handgun in the other, she's all set to go find AJ. The McCarroll Ranch, the place where AJ is living right now, is a maybe an hour or so away. And although the daytime has quickly turned to dusk, Clem insists on leaving as soon as possible, even it means going through the night. Knowing how adamant Clem can be, I wasn't about to fight her, despite the danger she could be putting herself into. Clem's capable, and for a 13 year old girl, I'd have to assume she can handle herself pretty easily out there.

As the gates slowly creak open, and the four of us watch Clem head out. But before, she turns back, and gives Gabe a hug. Kate and I can't help but smile. Young love. Like she said, it feels so natural.

With a final wave to us, she walks off into the sunset. All by herself, with a herd of walkers ahead of her, all to get AJ. In all honesty, I like her odds pretty damn well.

"You think it's a good idea letting her go out on her own like this?" Kate asks, concerned. I simply smile and nod.

"I'd bet my life on it."

 **Well, that's it. The last chapter of main story substance for TFG. I just want to thank everyone who's read this story, whether you were an OG from Day 1, or you just started reading a couple weeks ago. This was all just an idea I had while I got stoned one weekend cause I was bored and felt like doing something creative, and I never expected the reception it got. This was a ton of fun to write, and I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I'll have one more chapter up just to wrap everything up, but in terms of story, this will be the last chapter. Thank you very much, and I'll see you guys on Monday to wrap this all up, once and for all. 3**


	42. Epilogue: Brave New World

Epilogue: Brave New World

 **10 Years Later**

The sun shines bright on the streets as my son runs down the road, looking for the football I had just thrown to him as he leaps up into the air, coming down with an easy catch. He showboats a little before running back to me, making sure to give a solid high five before handing me the ball once again. As he goes out for another deep pass, Kate giggles to my right, holding our daughter's hand, and the four of us continue walking down the empty street. I launch another football towards him, and he comes down with another catch.

It's been 14 years since the nightmare started, and civilization finally seems to be rebuilding, to an extent. Life's starting to feel normal. Richmond's held up fine since we joined the community, a few more breaches in the past years, but none nearly as bad as that first one. We were better prepared this time. We suffered minimal losses to these breaches, and some we didn't even lose anyone. All around the country, major cities, not unlike ours, have also started rebuilding. Boston, Miami, Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, and many other cities are rebuilding themselves to their former glory. Things finally seem to be going back to the way they were. All it took was 14 years of pain and suffering.

There hasn't been a cure found yet. The remaining scientists in this world have tried to do what they can, and although I'm not sure if they'll be able to, I pray that every night that they find something, anything to end this nightmare. Anything for my kids to have a remotely normal life. Anything to bring life back to the way it was, if that's even possible. But I'm gonna do what I can, and hopefully everyone else does, too.

I try not to think about Carley, Mia, and everyone else I lost during this. I thought about how I treated Arvo after Carley's death, and the things I said to some people and did to some people. I thought a lot about that last night in Howe's, bashing Carver's skull in well beyond recognition. I remember Carley's face when I did that. She was horrified. I felt like a badass at the moment, but I now realize I took that too far. In Carley's eyes, I went from her sweet husband to a bloodthirsty animal who went as far as he wanted. But given how I was after he killed Mia, maybe that was a fair assessment. I knew Mia was looking down on me from Heaven. She must've been disgusted. But, seeing Carver kill her sent me over the edge. Do I regret it? Honestly, I have no fucking clue.

I was always glad to see Clementine alive after Lee died. It made me glad to know that as he slowly turned, he made sure to help Clem get out of Savannah and to safety. It's unfortunate I never gave him a proper goodbye, but I think seeing Clem safe is good enough. It's a damn shame he never got to see the woman Clem grew up to be. But, without him, there'd be no her. I like to think that he lives on through her, in a way.

Then the situation with the Russian. Arvo killed Carley, and I sometimes still get nightmares thinking about that day, watching her get shot, and her body slowly bleeding out and inching towards death in my arms. As the grief overcame me and I debated killing myself that night, I could've been with Carley and not worry about this anymore. But I'm glad I didn't. She's in a better place and I keep fighting every day for her. I still don't know why I didn't shoot him afterwards. It's funny, even though I made a promise to kill Carley's killer, something stopped me with Arvo, and I couldn't explain why. Maybe it was Carley in the afterlife. Maybe I had hit my breaking point. I don't know. I just don't know.

My last memory of the man who stood by me through the thick of it was me betraying him. Kenny saved my ass a handful of times and I straight up stabbed him in the back. Leaving with Mike and Bonnie saved my ass, but was it worth it? I look over at Kate and Richmond and say it was. But I think about Clem and how I left her to die over a dispute. I feel awful. There's no way Kenny ever forgave me for that. It wouldn't be like him to do that, at least without knocking my lights out first. When Duck and Katjaa died, he turned into a different man. And I saw that same man when Sarita died. He was quick to lose it, but there was no one else I would want to have my back more than Kenny. When Clem told me he died, I felt like I lost a part of myself as well. That sounds extremely cheesy, but I could feel it.

In my time at Wellington, I didn't get to know that many people. I generally kept to myself, never really able to get over losing Carley. Edith was there to comfort me and she helped me get back on my feet, and for that, I owe her my life. But when she was killed by the New Frontier, I was back on my own again. I don't know how I was able to last before finding Javi and Kate, but I was fortunate enough. But, I was even more fortunate to come across someone good like Edith. If it wasn't for her, I'd be a corpse frozen in a snowbank over in Illinois or wherever.

My last thing was the old New Frontier. Joan's New Frontier. I don't regret killing her. I regret not killing her sooner, if anything. It would've saved so much time and stress. But, I'm glad we were able to expose her and her actions to the good people of Richmond. With their support following the uprising and breach, we were able to fix Joan's wrongs and turn Richmond around. I'm still not sure what exactly Jesus saw in me that one afternoon, whatever it was that made him think I was the best candidate to lead, but I like to think he was right. I wasn't sure about myself, but I did it anyways. Maybe as redemption for what happened during the breach, maybe it was redemption for myself over those previous four years. But I did it and I've been the governor of Richmond ever since. In my time as Richmond's Governor, we have not ran a single raid on any settlement, all while running a self-sustaining community. We're thriving and only showing signs of improvement and expansion.

I can't stop thinking about Carver. He told me I'd lead a community one day, just as he did. Maybe he was right. I am the kind of person willing to do what it takes. Maybe I am the strong-minded individual he spoke of. Maybe he's looking up at me from Hell and seeing my beacon of hope for the world, the real beacon of hope. Not his lies. Not his crimes. I hope he does. I hope he sees what I've done and feels disgusted.

Of course, I can't do everything myself, so I brought on some familiar faces to help me lead. Eleanor is currently the head of the hospital and the top doctor. I found it in my heart to forgive her for betraying us because frankly, she's a damn good doctor and I owe her everything for saving Kate. About 6 or 7 years ago, a group came and joined with their own doctor, a young man named Devin. They immediately hit it off and were married within a year and a half. Their two daughters Amelia and Theresa help out around the hospital and are the friendliest kids I've ever met. Dr. Lingard still works in the hospital, and he is fortunately almost eight years sober. No alcohol, no drugs, nothing. Maybe his wife and kids have helped with that, but with him, Eleanor, Devin, and a few other doctors, our hospital runs beautifully and they're capable of keeping this community well.

Javi, following in his deceased brother's footsteps, is currently the head of the security. He keeps order very well and there are very few incidents he has to get involved in. He and a townsperson named Madison got married about a year ago, and they're expecting their first child soon. Javi's also planning on starting a little league in Richmond for the kids. You can take the man out of baseball, but you can't take the baseball out of the man. Technically, I'm in charge of the agriculture as well, but given how skilled the workers are, I trust them to get everything done without a worry whatsoever. Together, like the prior leaders, we make the major decisions here, forming our own council, albeit with less deception, I hope.

Gabe and Clementine ended up happening. The young budding romance between the two teenagers turned into something real. The both of them are now 23 and living together, but no kids of their own, yet. Gabe works in the security division with his uncle, and Clem works by my side with leadership, acting as my second in command. Gabe has definitely matured in the time since I took over Richmond. He went from the really whiny kid that was hella defensive to a young man with a lot of leadership potential. I think when David died, something changed in him, something sparked inside him that told him he needed to step up for real. I'm pleased to say he's done more than just step up. Clem is still a complete and utter badass when she needs to be, and I think that helped Gabe mature as well. Clem went to the McCarroll Ranch and found AJ happy and healthy. The family that was caring for him was reluctant to give him up to her, but once she explained who she was and how AJ responded to seeing her, they really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Today, Clem acts his adoptive mother, and Gabe as his adoptive father, even though they're still kids themselves.

Speaking of AJ, he is one big guy now. There's no question Alvin was his father. He stands around 5'10" (And still growing, mind you. I could see him eclipsing 6'4" if we're being honest). He's built like a young Ray Lewis. Keep in mind he's 12. If this continues and things get back to normal, maybe he'll have the football career I wasn't able to have. Maybe, just maybe.

Unfortunately, Conrad passed away. He had a heart attack one afternoon about 6 years ago. Eleanor tried to help but he was too far gone. While I didn't get to talk to him much, nor did I know him all that well, he proved to be a good man and I only have good things to say about him. After Francine was killed, he sometimes talked about how he couldn't wait to be with her. Well, he is now. Rest easy.

As though it would turn out, both Max and Lonnie made it through the breach. For helping us take down Joan, and being cooperative, I decided to cut Max a break, and he's a working member of the community now, albeit on a tighter leash than the rest. Lonnie, on the other hand, was exiled once we sorted everything out. I learned of his eventual fate just days later, when I saw his corpse walking around, a nasty bite tearing a chunk of skin off his cheek. I felt zero sympathy for that asshole. None.

That leaves me and Kate. We got married a few months after the first breach, and her asking me to start a family with her in the chapel must've struck something, because several months after we were married, we had our son, Chandler Michael Sullivan. The kid has the most energy of anyone in the community and isn't afraid to prove it. He will gladly play outside from sunup to sundown or later, no breaks, nothing. When Chandler was seven, I taught him how to shoot a glock, and at ten years old, now, he's just as good a shot as anybody here. Somehow, I see a little bit of Carley every time I look at him. Something about his smile and how he's carefree and happy. It always reminds me of her back when we were dating in college. It makes me miss her more, but I'm happy she didn't have to go through everything. She's in a better place.

Kate surprised me 3 years later with something big. She was pregnant again. And several months later we had our daughter, Marissa Carley Sullivan. Marissa, named in honor of who would have been her older step-sister, Mariana, is a spitting image of her mother, almost the exact same face and hair. She's the exact opposite of her brother, though. She is shy and introverted, and I don't blame her. It takes a special kind of kid to be as carefree as Chandler in the zombie apocalypse. Marissa is easily one of the smartest kids in the community, though. She'll be something special when she's older. I just found out Kate's pregnant again. In a few months, we'll be welcoming our third child into the world. Maybe I'll have another son that's an athlete like his father, or another daughter with her mother's beauty and wit. Either way, I can't wait.

One of these days, I'm gonna find a way to get Kate that Norway trip she talked about. We'll see the Northern Lights together. Maybe it'll make one Hell of an anniversary gift. I don't believe the kids have seen much by way of snow, so it'll be an experience for them, too. I always wanted to take Carley to Paris, so maybe I'll have to take Kate there, too. Fuck it, maybe we'll tour through all of Europe one day.

Jesus comes around every now and then. He brings toys for the kids and some of the best wine for Kate and I. Sometimes he makes me wonder if he's….. no nevermind. Everytime he comes by, the kids' eyes light up. Maybe I'll tell them one day just how good of a man he is, how much of a saint he is, and how many times he saved my life. I'm eternally grateful for that man.

It's crazy to think that I'm 35 with two kids, a third on the way, and a beautiful wife. Of course, if the NFL career worked out the way it should have, I'd be with Carley in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills living our dream life together. I can't imagine I'd still be playing at 35, but who knows? Part of me wishes that the reality I dream about was the reality I'm living. But it's not. This is the reality we're in. And it's up to us to make things the way they were again. Regardless, given the cards I was dealt, I think I did a pretty good job with it.

It's not going to be easy. In all honesty, I don't know if it's even possible to go back to the way things were. Regardless, I don't need things the way they were. I don't need an NFL Contract or a BMW or fancy vacations. If this is how life is going to be like, all I need is my family.

As long as I've got my family, I've got something to fight for.

And as long as I have something to fight for, I'll keep on fighting to the bitter end.

* * *

 **Well, that's it. Too Far Gone is officially completed. This story was a lot of fun to write, and it got really good reception from most of you. While nothing's been set in stone, I am thinking about possibly writing a Season 4 Story that's more or less a spinoff of this story, but generally unrelated to most of the plot here. Regardless, I greatly appreciate the feedback you guys have given me on this story, as it was my first one. With that, I'll see you guys next time. Thanks :]**


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